Lazarus Vitalis Msimbe, S.D.S. (born 27 December 1963) is a Tanzanian

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

prelate who is the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Morogoro, Tanzania. Before he was appointed bishop, he served as

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the Diocese of Morogoro, from 13 February 2019 until 31 May 2021, while still a priest. He was appointed bishop on 13 February 2019 by

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

Early life and education

He was born on 27 December 1963 in Homboza, Morogoro District,

Morogoro Region Morogoro Region (''Mkoa wa Morogoro'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions. It covers an area of . and is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of Ireland. M ...

, in the Diocese of Morogoro, in

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. He attended elementary school in his home area. He studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

at ''Our Lady of the Angels Major Seminary'' in

Kibosho Kibosho or Kingdom of Kibosho also sometimes referred to as Old Kibosho (''Isarile la Kibosho'' in Kikibosho), (''Ufalme wa Kibosho'' in Swahili) was a historic sovereign Chagga state located in modern-day Kibosho ward in Moshi Rural Distric ...

, in the diocese of Moshi, from 1990 until 1993. He then transferred to ''Saint Charles Lwanga Senior Seminary'' in Segerea, in the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam, where he studied

Theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

from 1993 until 1998. Later, he studied civil law and

canon law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

, graduating with a

Doctorate degree A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

, awarded by

Heythrop College Heythrop College, University of London, was a constituent college of the University of London between 1971 and 2018, last located in Kensington Square, London. It comprised the university's specialist faculties of philosophy and theology with soc ...

, a component of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a collegiate university, federal Public university, public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The ...

, at the time.

Priest

While still in seminary, he joined the Society of the Divine Saviour (SDS) also known as Salvatorians. He professed to be a member of the SDS on 8 December 1987. He then took his perpetual vows as a member of the Order of Salvatorians on 8 December 1994. He was ordained priest of the Society of the Divine Savior, on 21 June 1998. While a priest, he served in various roles including as: * Priest in Lukuledi Parish in the diocese of Tunduru-Masasi, in 1988 * Director of seminaries and vocations for the province of the Salvatorian Fathers in Tanzania from 1998 until 2002 * Master of Salvatorian novices in Nakapanya, the Diocese of Tunduru-Masasi from 2002 until 2005 * Provincial superior of the institute in Tanzania from 2005 until 2011. * Provider of pastoral service in a number of parishes in the London area, England, United Kingdom from 2012 until 2016 * Formator of Salvatorian seminarians at

Jordan University College The Jordan University College (JUCO) is a constituent college of St. Augustine University of Tanzania in Morogoro, Tanzania. History The religious Superiors of the congregations working in Tanzania agreed early on with the Salvatorian Mission ...

in Morogoro * Bursar of the community * Vice-superior provincial of the Salvatorians in Tanzania from 2017 until February 2019. He was appointed the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Morogoro on 13 February 2019, serving in that capacity until 31 May 2021.

Bishop

On 31 May 2021

appointed

Monsignor Monsignor (; ) is a form of address or title for certain members of the clergy in the Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" can be abbreviated as Mons.... or Msgr. In some ...

Lazarus Vitalis Msimbe, as the Ordinary of the diocese of Morogoro. He was consecrated and installed on 19 September 2021 at the hands of Archbishop Marek Solczyński, Titular Archbishop of

Caesarea in Mauretania Caesarea in Mauretania (Latin: ''Caesarea Mauretaniae'', meaning "Caesarea of Mauretania") was a Roman colony in Roman-Berber North Africa. It was the capital of Mauretania Caesariensis and is now called Cherchell, in modern Algeria. In the p ...

assisted by Archbishop

Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa'ichi Jude Thadaeus Ruwa'ichi, Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, OFMCap (born 30 January 1954) is a Demographics of Tanzania, Tanzanian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dar-es-Salaam, Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaa ...

, Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam and Bishop Telesphore Richard Mkude, Bishop Emeritus of Morogoro.

Succession table

(5 April - 30 December 2020)

References

External links