Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa

 

Last week, Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa went to be with the Lord. He was aged 67 years.

Archbishop Rugambwa died at the Agostina Gemelli Hospital in Rome. That is the same hospital where Pope St. John Paul II was receiving treatment until the Pontiff asked to be returned to the Apostolic Palace and to the impending end of his memorable pontificate as well as his remarkable life.

Archbishop Rugambwa was being treated at Gemelli following a stroke he suffered in New Zealand on 29 October 2023 where he served as Apostolic Nuncio to that country. He earlier received treatment in New Zealand before returning to Rome for further treatment.

What is in a Name? 

Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa was the second of a trio of Bishops of the same last name to come out of Tanzania. The first, Laurean Rugambwa was a Cardinal, the third, Protase Rugambwa is also a Cardinal.

 

Laurean Cardinal Rugambwa was born on 12 July 1912 and ordained Priest on 12 December 1943 at a now not- very-young age of 31 years. At the age of 39 in 1951, he was appointed Titular Bishop of Febiana, and Vicar Apostolic of Kagera Inferiore. He remained at the head of the ecclesiastic jurisdiction through its elevation to Diocese and change of name, until 1968 when he was appointed Archbishop of Dar- es- Salaam.

Meanwhile, on 3 March 1960, it was announced that Pope John XXIII would create seven new Cardinals on 28 March. Conspicuous on the list of new Cardinals was Laurean Rugambwa, Bishop of Rutabo, Tanzania. At the age of 47, he was the youngest on the list. He was also the first Native African Cardinal of the modern age.

The elevation of Laurean Cardinal Rugambwa was not just a thing of pride to Catholics across Africa; it was a source of inspiration. If an African can be elevated to Cardinal, then a place at the table is open to other Africans. Newly born babies were named Rugambwa in the faint hope that they too might grow up to be Cardinals.

Novatus Rugambwa was born in Bukoba on 8 October 1957. He was less than 3 years old when Laurean Rugambwa was elevated to Cardinal and appointed Bishop of Bukoba. His life was inspired by that of the Cardinal leading to his choice of priestly vocation. He was ordained a priest of Bukoba on 6 July 1986. All his pastoral experience was in Bukoba, before entering the Diplomatic service of the Holy See.

Protase Rugambwa was also one of the babies named after the Cardinal. He was born on 31 May 1960, amidst the euphoria attending the elevation of Cardinal Rugambwa two months earlier. He was ordained priest in 1990 by Pope St. John Paul II.  Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as Bishop of Kigoma, Tanzania in 2008. After four years in Kigoma, the Pope appointed him to a position in the Dicastery for Evangelization in Rome, where he worked for the next ten years.

He returned to Tanzania as Coadjutor Archbishop of Tabora in April of 2023, succeeding as Archbishop in November 2023. Pope Francis elevated him to Cardinal at the same consistory as Robert Francis Prevost, the future Pope Leo XIV.

Laurean Cardinal Rugambwa’s priestly vocation, culminating in his appointment as Cardinal in 1960 will forever remain an inspiration for many. First of three Archbishops of the same name, and more to come.

Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa, the middle one of the three, will be laid to rest tomorrow 29 September, feast of the Archangels, at Mater Misericordiae Cathedral in Bukoba. It is the same resting place as Laurean Cardinal Rugambwa.

May his soul rest in the peace of Christ.

 

Ayo Fasoro

Non Sum Dignus