Pope Francis announces new diocese in Angola with first Bishop
Angola has a new diocese established by Pope Francis.
The head of the Catholic Church created the Diocese of Ganda and appointed Bishop Estêvão Binga as its first bishop. Bishop Binga has been serving as the auxiliary bishop of the Diocese of Benguela.
The Holy See Press Office announced the creation of the new diocese on August 1. The Diocese of Ganda is the 20th diocese in Angola and is part of the Metropolitan See of Huambo.
It was carved out from the Benguela Diocese and has a population of 947,826, with 633,636 Catholics, representing 66.9% of the total population.
The establishment of the Diocese of Ganda marks a significant development for the Catholic Church in Angola.
Bishop Binga was born on September 2, 1966, in the Archdiocese of Lubango. He was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Benguela in April 1996 after studying at the Bom Pastor Seminary and the Cristo Rei Seminary in the Huambo Diocese.
He holds a bachelor's degree, licentiate, and doctorate in dogmatic theology from the Faculty of Theology of Northern Spain.
During his priesthood, Binga served in various roles, including prefect of discipline in the preparatory seminary in the Benguela Diocese, collaborator in the Parish of Nossa Senhora dos Navegantes, president of the Diocesan Commission for Study and Refresher Courses, and lecturer at several higher education institutions.
He was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Benguela Diocese in November 2021.
