Luanda: Angolan Catholic Archbishop Zacarias Kamwenho died on Friday in Luanda, after an illness, the Episcopal Conference of Angola and So Tom© (CEAST) announced. In a statement received by ANGOP, CEAST reports that the prelate died at the Pedro Maria Tonha "Pedal©" Hospital Complex in Luanda, at the age of 91.
According to Angola Press News Agency, CEAST expresses its solidarity with the faithful of the Archdiocese of Lubango, the Diocese of Sumbe (where he was the first bishop), family members, and the Franciscan Sisters of the Visitation of Mary, a diocesan congregation founded by Zacarias Kamwenho. A native of Huambo province, Kamwenho was ordained a priest in 1961 and began his career as a professor at the Bela Vista Mission in the Central Plateau, where he served for eight years before being appointed vice-rector in 1970.
Kamwenho was appointed coadjutor bishop, with the right of succession, to the archbishop of Lubango on March 3, 1995, and consecrated as archbishop on January 15, 1997. He retired in September 2009 at the age of 75. Throughout his career, Dom Zacarias Kamwenho presided over CEAST and the Ecumenical Committee for Peace in Angola (COIEPA).
In 2001, Kamwenho played a significant role as a mediator in the armed conflict in Angola and was recognized for his contribution to the peace process by being named co-winner of the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, awarded by the European Parliament in the same year.
