Laurean Rugambwa

Laurean Rugambwa (July 12, 1912 – December 8, 1997) was the first modern native African Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Dar es Salaam from 1968 to 1992, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1960.

His Eminence

Laurean Rugambwa
Archbishop Emeritus of Dar-es-Salaam
ChurchRoman Catholic Church
ArchdioceseDar-es-Salaam
SeeDar-es-Salaam
Appointed19 December 1969
Term ended22 July 1992
PredecessorEdgar Aristide Maranta
SuccessorPolycarp Pengo
Other postsCardinal-Priest of San Francesco d'Assisi a Ripa Grande (1960-92)
Orders
Ordination12 December 1943
by Burkhard Huwiler
Consecration10 February 1952
by David James Mathew
Created cardinal28 March 1960
by Pope John XXIII
RankCardinal-Priest
Personal details
Birth nameLaurean Rugambwa
Born(1912-07-12)12 July 1912
Bukoba, Tanzania
Died8 December 1997(1997-12-08) (aged 85)
Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania
Previous post
  • Titular Bishop of Febiana (1951-53)
  • Vicar Apostolic of Lower Kagera (1951-53)
  • Bishop of Rutabo (1953-60)
  • Bishop of Bukoba (1960-68)
Alma materPontifical Urbaniana University
MottoMater boni consilii
Styles of
Laurean Rugambwa
Reference styleHis Eminence
Spoken styleYour Eminence
Informal styleCardinal
SeeDar es Salaam (emeritus)

Biography

Laurean Rugambwa was born to an aristocratic family in Bukongo, Tanganyika (present-day Tanzania), and baptized with his parents[1] at age 8, on March 19, 1921. After studying at the Regional Grand Seminary of Katigondo in Uganda, he was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Burcardo Huwiler, MAfr, on December 12, 1943. Rugambwa then did missionary work in West Africa until 1949, when he went to Rome to study at the Pontifical Urbaniana University, from which he obtained his doctorate in canon law.

On December 13, 1951, Rugambwa was appointed Titular Bishop of Febiana and the first Apostolic Vicar of Lower Kagera. The youngest of Africa's bishops,[1] he received his episcopal consecration on February 10, 1952 from Archbishop David Mathew, with Bishops Joseph Kiwanuka, MAfr, and Joseph Blomjous serving as co-consecrators. Upon his Apostolic Vicariate's elevation to a diocese on March 25, 1953, Rugambwa was named Bishop of Rutabo by Pope Pius XII. He was created Cardinal Priest of S. Francesco a Ripa by Pope John XXIII in the consistory of March 28, 1960, and thus became the first native African cardinal. On the following June 21, the diocese was renamed as Bukoba.

The progressive[2] Rugambwa attended the Second Vatican Council from 1962 to 1965, and was active in implementing its reforms. He was one of the cardinal electors in the 1963 papal conclave that selected Pope Paul VI. Advanced to Archbishop of Dar es Salaam on December 19, 1968, he later participated in the conclaves of August and October 1978, which selected Popes John Paul I and John Paul II respectively. The Cardinal, who had known Pope John Paul II from before his election, resigned as Dar es Salaam's archbishop on July 22, 1992, after twenty-three years of service, during which he founded the first Catholic hospital in Ukonga and a female Roman Catholic religious institute, the Little Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi.

Death

Rugambwa died in Dar es Salaam, at age 85. He is buried in the cathedral of Bukoba diocese, his remains having been transferred from a parish church in the Kagera Region. Upon his death he left Cardinals Raul Silva Henriquez and Franz König the two last surviving cardinals elevated by Pope John XXIII.

Trivia
  • In 1961, the Cardinal received an honorary doctorate in laws from the University of Notre Dame.[3]
  • Before returning to Tanzania after the August 1978 conclave, he visited the United States, where he then received word of Pope John Paul I's death.[4]
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References
  1. TIME Magazine. Seven New Hats March 14, 1960
  2. TIME Magazine. Council of Renewal October 5, 1962
  3. TIME Magazine. Kudos June 9, 1961
  4. TIME Magazine. The September Pope October 9, 1978

See also


Catholic Church titles
Preceded by
none		 Bishop of Bukoba
1951–1968		 Succeeded by
Placidus Nkalanga, OSB
Preceded by
Edgard Maranta, OFM Cap		 Archbishop of Dar es Salaam
1969–1992		 Succeeded by
Polycarp Pengo
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