Lubango - The president of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST), Dom José Manuel Imbamba, considered Saturday, in Lubango, Dom Zacarias Kamwenho an unavoidable reference of the church, who represents a generation of bishops 'very inspiring and fruitful'.
The president of CEAST made this assessment during the Mass of thanksgiving for the Jubilee of the 50th anniversary of the episcopal ordination of Dom Zacarias Kamwenho, which on Saturday, is celebrated, under the motto “The evangelized evangelizes”.
He justified that Dom Zacarias Kamwenho, despite adverse contexts, always knew how to propagate, with fidelity and zeal, the good news of salvation, being an example to imitate and a living historical heritage for history, which makes the church and the nation proud.
The bishop stated that 'Dom Kamwenho knew how to be a firm, vigilant and courageous sentinel against all ideological and cultural storms, defending the interests of the church with intelligence and wisdom, and was a good voice interpreter of God's signs in the history of Angola and defender a firm believer in the dignity of the human person and noble causes'.
“Our honoree did so with great peace of mind, humility, selflessness, enthusiasm, wisdom, faith and hope, in a context marked by countless socio-political and cultural vicissitudes ranging from the yoke of colonialism to independence, through civil war to the today”, he explained.
He underlined that it knew how to be 'the church of communion, the church of participation and the church of mission, a builder of justice, peace and political reconciliation'.
The thanksgiving mass for the Jubilee of the 50th anniversary of Dom Zacarias Kamuenho's episcopal ordination was attended by government entities, political parties, judiciaries, members of civil society, as well as faithful from various parishes and chapels, representing the 14 municipalities of the province. from Huíla.
Dom Zacarias Kamwenho was born in the village of Chibundo, province of Huambo, on September 5, 1930. He was ordained a priest on July 9, 1961 and, from then on, was appointed to the Mission of Bela Vista and Vavayela, which he served for eight years.
In 1968, she was appointed by her bishop Dom Daniel Gomes Junqueira to lead the direction of the major seminary of Cristo Rei (Huambo), having been appointed vice-rector of the institution in 1970, and became rector in August 1974, the date on which she was appointed ordained bishop, on the Solemnity of Christ King of the Universe.
He took office as auxiliary bishop of Luanda on December 1st of the same year.
On August 31, 1975, he took office as bishop of the diocese of Novo Rodendo (today Sumbe), from which he only left in 1995 for Lubango with the position of archbishop-coadjutor and, two years later, he assumed the archbishopric of Lubango.
On October 18, 2021, he was awarded the Sakharov Prize by the European Parliament. From 1997 to 2002, in two terms, he was president of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST) and the Inter-ecclesial Peace Committee in Angola (COIEPA).
Having reached retirement age, in 2009, at the age of 75, he handed over the pastorate of the Archdiocese of Lubango to Dom Gabriel Mbilingi, who remains in the position. BP/MS/DOJ
