Resignation of bishop of Kinkala, Republic of the Congo, and appointment of successor

Appointment of metropolitan archbishop of Atlanta, U.S.A.

Erection of the new diocese of Ekwulobia, Nigeria, and appointment of the first bishop

Resignation of bishop of Kinkala, Republic of the Congo, and appointment of successor

The Holy Father has accepted the resignation from the pastoral care of the diocese of Kinkala, Republic of the Congo, presented by Bishop Louis Portella Mbuyu.

At the same time, the Pope has appointed as bishop of the same diocese the Reverend Ildevert Mathurin Mouanga, of the clergy of Kinkala, currently rector of the Cardinal Emile Biayenda major seminary of Brazzaville.

Reverend Ildevert Mathurin Mouanga

The Reverend Ildevert Mathurin Mouanga was born in Hamon, Kinkala on 27 May 1966. He carried out his primary and secondary studies in his home town. He subsequently entered the Cardinal Emile Biayenda major seminary in Brazzaville, where he attended courses in philosophy and theology. He then attended the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome (2000 to 2004), obtaining a licentiate in sacred scripture, and then the Pontifical Urban University (2004 to 2009), where he was awarded a doctorate in biblical theology. He was ordained a priest on 16 August 1998 for the diocese of Kinkala.

After priestly ordination he first acquired parish pastoral experience in the diocese of Kinkala (1998 to 2000). He studied at the Pontifical Biblical Institute obtaining a licentiate in sacred scripture (2000 to 2004) and then at the Pontifical Urban University, receiving a doctorate in biblical theology. He served as lecturer in sacred scripture and director of studies at the Cardinal Emile Biayenda national major seminary (2009 to 2013), and as rector of the Cardinal Emile Biayenda national major seminary since 2014.

Appointment of metropolitan archbishop of Atlanta, U.S.A.

The Holy Father has appointed as metropolitan archbishop of Atlanta, United States of America, Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, O.F.M. Conv., of Savannah, Georgia, United States of America.

Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, O.F.M. Conv.

Bishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, O.F.M. Conv., was born on 21 November 1951 in Buffalo, New York. After attending the Saint Amelia School (1965) and the Cardinal O’Hara High School in Tonawanda in New York (1965 to 1969), he entered the Order of Friars Minor Conventual. He completed his novitiate in the Saint Joseph Cupertino Friary in Ellicott City, Maryland (1969 to 1970), giving his first vows on 15 August 1970 and his solemn profession on 15 August 1973. He was awarded a baccalaureate in philosophy from the Saint Hyacinth College and Seminary in Granby, Massachusetts (1974), and carried out his ecclesiastical studies at the Saint Anthony-on-Hudson Seminary in Rensselaer in New York (1979). He subsequently obtained a Master of Arts in pastoral counselling from the Emmanuel College (1980) and a Master of Education in secondary Catholic school administration from Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts (1992).

He was ordained a priest on 5 May 1979 in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Albany, New York.

As a religious priest he has held the following offices: guidance counsellor and teacher at Archbishop Curley High School, Baltimore, Maryland (1979 to 1985); guardian of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Friary and director of Archbishop Curley High School, Baltimore (1985 to 1989); definitor of the province of Saint Anthony of Padua (1988 to 1991); guardian of the Saint Francis of Assisi Friary and director of Saint Francis High School in Athol Springs, New York (1989 to 1994); and teacher at John Carroll High School in Fort Pierce, Florida (1995).

In the archdiocese of Atlanta he has served as guardian of the Saint Philip Benizi Friary, parish priest of the Saint Philip Benizi parish in Jonesboro (1995 to 2010), and of the Saint John Vianney parish in Lithia Springs in Georgia (2010 to 2011); moderator (2005 to 2006) and member of both the college of consultors (2005 to 2011) and the presbyteral council, member of the Committee for the Ongoing Formation of Priests, and director of the programme for new priests (2008 to 2011).

He was appointed as bishop of Savannah on 19 July 2011, and received episcopal consecration the following 18 October.

Within the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops he has been a member of the following committees: Administrative, Priorities and Plans (2016 to 2019) and National Collections, Aid to the Church in Central and Eastern Europe (2012 to 2019). He is currently chair of the Subcommittee on Catholic Communication Campaign (2019).

Erection of the new diocese of Ekwulobia, Nigeria, and appointment of the first bishop

The Holy Father has erected the new diocese of Ekwulobia, in Nigeria, with territory taken from the diocese of Awka, making it a suffragan of the metropolitan see of Onitsha.

The Pope has appointed Bishop Peter Ebere Okpaleke, emeritus of the diocese of Ahiara, Nigeria, as the first bishop of the newly-erected diocese of Ekwulobia.

The see of the newly-erected diocese of Ekwulobia, Ekvulobian(us) is located in the state of Anambra, south-east Nigeria, with Saint Joseph’s Catholic Church as its cathedral. The new ecclesiastical circumscription is constituted of territory taken from the diocese of Awka and is a suffragan of the metropolitan see of the archdiocese of Onitsha.

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