Dar es Salaam. Pope Francis has appointed the Coadjutor Archbishop of Tabora,  Protase Rugambwa, Tanzania's Cardinal. The pontiff announced on Sunday that he would elevate Rugambwa and the other 20 churchmen to the high rank of cardinal, again putting his mark on the group that will one day choose his successor after his death or resignation.

The new cardinals come from countries including the United States, Italy, Argentina, South Africa, Spain, Colombia, South Sudan, Hong Kong, Poland, Malaysia, Tanzania, and Portugal.

The ceremony to install them, known as a consistory, will be held on Sept. 30, the 86-year-old Francis announced during his noon prayer to pilgrims and tourists at St. Peter's Square.

His appointment has been confirmed by the Secretary General of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), Mr Charles Kitima, who said that the appointment is; "a blessing for our nation."

Rugambwa becomes the third cardinal in Tanzania, preceded by Laurean Rugambwa, who died on December 8, 1997, and Polycarp Pengo, who retired in 2019.

According to the information available on the Vatican website, Archbishop Rugambwa was born on May 31, 1960, in Kagera region, and was ordained a priest on September 2, 1990, for the diocese of Rulenge. In 1998, he was awarded a doctorate in pastoral theology from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome. 

From 2002 to 2008, he served as an official of the former Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

On January 18, 2008, he was appointed bishop of the diocese of Kigoma, and on June 26, 2012, adjunct secretary of the same Dicastery and president of the Pontifical Mission Societies, with the personal title of archbishop.

On November 9, 2017, he was appointed secretary of the same Congregation, and in April 2023, he was appointed coadjutor archbishop of Tabora. Addition report by Yamola Ibrahim, The Citizen