All Africa report: Pope Benedict XVI has appointed Archbishop Medardo Mazombwe as the new cardinal for Zambia.
In a statement issued in Lusaka yesterday by Zambia Episcopal Conference (ZEC) spokesperson Paul Samasumo, it is the first time in the history of the country that an indigenous Zambian has been appointed as cardinal.
The first and only cardinal in Zambia was the late Adam Cardinal Kozlowiecki appointed by the late Pope John Paul II.
From November 20, 2010, Archbishop Mazombwe would be officially referred to as His Eminence Cardinal Medardo Mazombwe.
On the same day, Pope Benedict XVI would also elevate 23 other cardinals. Archbishop Mazombwe would receive the red hat (berretta) from the hand of the Holy Father during a public consistory in Saint Peter's square at the Vatican in Rome, Italy.
Archbishop Mazombwe, who recently celebrated 50 years as a priest, was born on September 24, 1931 in Chipata, Eastern Province, and was ordained a Catholic priest on September 4, 1960. He became bishop of Chipata on February 7, 1971. Between 1996 and 2006, he was the Archbishop of Lusaka until his retirement in 2006.
He has held several senior positions in the local and regional Church and is an ardent campaigner who tirelessly advocated for Zambia's debt cancellation in the mid 1980s through the Jubilee movement campaign.
He is currently spearheading several new development projects in many parts of Zambia, including the Mumpanshya area in Chongwe District. ZEC president George Lungu congratulated Archbishop Mazombwe on his elevation to the position of cardinal.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201010210744.html
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