Holy Father Names Bishop of Diocese of Byumba, Rwanda

16 April, 2025

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Local Churches

28 February, 2022

2 min

Holy Father Names Bishop of Diocese of Byumba, Rwanda

Reverend Papias Musengamana, of the Clergy of Kabgayi

Cathedral of Byumba

The Holy Father has appointed the Reverend Papias Musengamana, of the clergy of Kabgayi, until now rector of the Grand Séminaire Saint Charles Borromée of Nyakibanda, as bishop of the diocese of Byumba, Rwanda.

Msgr. Papias Musengamana was born on 21 August 1967 in Byimana, in the diocese of Kabgayi. After attending the primary school of Mwendo (1974-1982), he entered the Petit Séminaire Saint Léon of Kabgayi (1982-1988). He attended the Rutongo Preparatory Seminary (1989-1989) and the Kabgayi Major Seminary of Philosophy (1989-1991). He completed his studies in theology at the Université Catholique d’Afrique Centrale – Institut Catholique de Yaoundé in Cameroon (1991-1996), where he was awarded a licentiate in biblical theology.

He was ordained a priest on May 18, 1997.

Since priestly ordination, he has held the following offices: secretary to the bishop (1997-1999), a doctorate in biblical theology at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg in Germany (1999-2005), parish vicar in Kamonyi (2005-2006), diocesan bursar (2006-2013), vicar general of Kabgayi (2013-2017) and, from 2018 to the present, rector of the Grand Séminaire Saint Charles Borromée of Nyakibanda.

The Catholic Diocese of Byumba is one of the 9 dioceses of Rwanda. It covers part of the northeastern border of Rwanda with Tanzania to the east and Uganda to the north. In the South East, there is the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kibungo, in the southwest, the Archdiocese of Kigali, and in the west the Diocese of Ruhengeri.

Detached from the Dioceses of Ruhengeri and Kibungo, it was erected on November 5, 1981. It currently has 21 parishes, composed of 108 cells and 3007 Basic Ecclesial Communities (CEBs). It serves a population of 1,360,285 including 683,516 Catholics Christians. According to the statistics of the year, more than 60 percent of the population are under 35 years old, so they are still young. The Catholic Diocese of Byumba currently has 83 priests, 146 religious, 29 medical centers, social and charitable institutions, 81 Nursery Schools and 88 free subsidized catholic Primary Schools, 40 Secondary Schools (cf. Annual Statistics 2013 of the Catholic Diocese of Byumba). It operates in the Northern Province of the country, ie in the Districts of Gicumbi, Rulindo, and Burera, and in the Province of the East, in the Districts of Nyagatare and Gatsibo.

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