South Sudan’s president pays tribute to missionary bishop
July 25, 2011
The president of the newly independent nation of South Sudan has paid tribute to Bishop Cesare Mazzolari, an Italian missionary bishop who died while offering Mass on July 16.
Describing the bishop as “a man of deep faith, humility, and sincerity,” President Salva Kiir Mayardit, a Catholic, recalled that “I had the privilege of knowing the late Bishop Mazzolari personally, particularly during the days of the liberation struggle” from the Islamic regime of what is now known as North Sudan.
“He dedicated his life to serving the Catholic Church in the Sudan,” the president added, “and he will be remembered for his heroic commitment to the struggle of the people of Southern Sudan for freedom, equality, justice, and human dignity.”
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Further information:
- President of South Sudan remembers Bishop Mazzolari (Vatican Radio)
- Thousands of faithful attend the funeral of Msgr. Mazzolari; Cardinal Wako urges to follow the example of the late Bishop (Fides)
- South Sudan: bishop dies suddenly, one week after celebrating nation's independence (CWN, 7/19)
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