BISHOP MFUMBUSA FROM TANZANIA NEW PRESIDENT OF CEPACS

The Pan-African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications (CEPACS) has a new Chair: Most Rev. Bernardin Francis Mfumbusa, Bishop of Kondoa, in Tanzania. He took the lead since his election by the 20th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) held in Kigali, Rwanda, from July 30 to August 4, 2025.

Bishop Bernardin Francis Mfumbusa is the first Bishop of Kondoa. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Dodoma on June 14, 1992. He was consecrated Bishop of Kondoa on May 15, 2011, after his appointment on March 12, 2011, by Pope Benedict XVI.

The Kondoa-Native Bishop is a respected academic and communications expert. He pursued graduate studies at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, where he obtained a doctorate in communications. During his studies, he worked with the Diocese of Rockford, Illinois, gaining practical experience in Church communications.

He returned to Tanzania and joined the faculty of St. Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) where he served as Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, Assistant Deputy Vice Chancellor, and later Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.

As Pastor, Bishop Mfumbusa has emphasized education, leadership, and interfaith coexistence. He continues to encourage the Church to use new technologies, including social media and artificial intelligence, for evangelization and to spread messages of hope.

The new President of CEPACS is working with his team on the Strategic Plan of Communication for 2025-2028. Known in French as “Comité Episcopal Panafricain pour les Communications Sociales” (CEPACS), the “Pan-African Episcopal Committee for Social Communications” was established after the Pan-African episcopal meeting on Social Communication held at Ibadan, Nigeria, from November 28 to December 2, 1973.

Charles Ayetan