The Holy Father has appointed as Bishop of the Diocese of Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea, the Rev. Paul Sundu, of the clergy of the same see, currently parish priest in Koge and teacher at the Good Shepherd Seminary of Mount Hagen.

Curriculum vitae

HE Bishop Paul Sundu was born on July 27, 1973, in Womatne, Simbu Province, Diocese of Kundiawa, Papua New Guinea. He trained at the St. Fidelis Minor Seminary in Madang, at the Good Shepherd Seminary in Mount Hagen (1997-1999), and at the Catholic Theological Institute in Port Moresby (2002-2004).

He was ordained a priest on January 17, 2006. He obtained a licentiate in theology from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas-Angelicum (2011-2014).

After ordination, he held the following positions: Parish Vicar in Mingende (2006-2007) and in Kundiawa (2007-2008); Director of Vocations and Parish Priest in Kundiawa (2008-2009); Vice-Rector and Rector of the Good Shepherd Seminary in Mount Hagen (2010-2011) and again Rector of the same Seminary (2015 – 2018). From 2018 until now he has been Lecturer at Good Shepherd Seminary in Mount Hagen and Pastor in Koge.

In addition to his mother tongue, Kuman, and Tok Pisin, he knows English and Italian.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Kundiawa is a suffragan diocese of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mount Hagen in Papua New Guinea. It was erected in 1982, having been separated from the Diocese of Goroka.

Papua New Guinea is one of the most culturally diverse countries in the world. As of 2019, it is also the most rural, as only 13.25 percent of its people live in urban centers. There are 851 known languages in the country, of which 11 now have no known speakers. Most of the population of more than 8,000,000 people live in customary communities, which are as diverse as the languages. The country is one of the world’s least explored, culturally and geographically. It is known to have numerous groups of uncontacted people