Tanzania’s Cardinal Pengo dies at 81
February 21, 2026
Cardinal Polycarp Pengo, one of Africa’s leading prelates during the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, died on February 19 at the age of 81.
Born in 1944 and ordained to the priesthood in 1973, Father Pengo studied moral theology, became a seminary rector, and was appointed a bishop in 1983. Pope St. John Paul II ordained him a bishop in St. Peter’s Basilica in 1984.
Cardinal Pengo led the Dioceses of Nachingwea (1984-86) and Tunduru-Masasi (1987-90) until his 1990 appointment as coadjutor archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania’s leading see. He acceded to the see in 1992 and governed it until his resignation, for reasons of age, in 2019.
St. John Paul created him a cardinal in 1998. His fellow African bishops elected him president of the Symposium of the Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) from 2007 to 2009.
Cardinal Pengo was “a tireless promoter of peace and unity,” the Vatican newspaper reported in its obituary. “He helped establish the Church as a point of reference during years of great social change in the country, working tirelessly for social justice and the fight against tribalism.”
With Cardinal Pengo’s passing, there are now 245 living cardinals, 121 of whom are eligible to take part in a papal election.
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