Erection of the diocese of Koumra, Chad, and appointment of first bishop

The Holy Father has erected the new diocese of Koumra, Chad, with territory taken from the diocese of Sarh, making it a suffragan of the metropolitan archdiocese of N’Djaména.

The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Samuel Mbairabé Tibingar, of the clergy of N’Djaména, until now vicar general of the same diocese, as first bishop of Koumra.

Curriculum vitae

Msgr. Samuel Mbairabé Tibingar was born in Sarh on 27 July 1972, and was ordained a priest on 26 November 2005.

After his high school studies, he entered the Saint Luc de Bakara Interdiocesan Major Seminary in N’Djaména (1997-2004). He was awarded a licentiate in sacred scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome (2007-2011), and a doctorate from the Theological Faculty of Central Italy in Florence (2011-2016).

He has held the following offices: deputy parish priest of the Cathedral of N’Djaména (2005-2006); parish priest of Saint Paul de Kabalaye in N’Djaména (2006-2007); collaborator in the Santi Martino e Giusto parish in Lucardo Alto, Florence; formator in the Interdiocesan Major Seminary of Sarh, and then rector (2017). Since 2021 he has served as vicar general of N’Djaména.

Statistical data

The new diocese of Koumra in Chad coincides with the civil province of Mandoul, of which Koumra is its principal city. The province has six departments, divided into fifteen municipalities, and has an area of 17,330 square kilometres, with a population of around 900,000 inhabitants. The city was a missionary station, from which all the surrounding parishes were born.

It is a suffragan of the archdiocese of N’Djaména. The see of the diocese is the city of Koumra. The Cathedral Church of the new ecclesiastical circumscription is the current parish Church of Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus in Koumra.