Matthias Joseph Isuja (14 August 1929 - 13 April 2016) was a Tanzanian

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

prelate who served as the Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Dodoma The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dodoma () is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Tanzania located in the city of Dodoma. History * January 28, 1935: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Dodoma from the Ap ...

from 1972 until his age-related retirement in 2005. He was appointed bishop on 26 June 1972 by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. Bishop Matthias Joseph Isuja died on 13 April 2016 at the age of 87 years, as the Bishop Emeritus of Dodoma, Tanzania.

Early life and education

He was born on 14 August 1929 at

Haubi Haubi is an administrative ward in the Kondoa district, Kondoa district of the Dodoma Region of Tanzania. According to the 2002 census, the ward has a total population of 12,894. Haubi is a little village less than from Haubi Catholic Mission St ...

, Kondoa District, Diocese of Dodoma,

Dodoma Region Dodoma Region (''Mkoa wa Dodoma'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions. The regional capital is the city of Dodoma, which is also the capital of Tanzania. Dodoma region is located in c ...

, 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 various schools including ''Tosamanga Secondary School'' in

Iringa Region Iringa Region (''Mkoa wa Iringa'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 Regions of Tanzania, administrative regions. The region covers an area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation state of ...

. In 1959 he graduated from ''Moshi Theological College.

Priest

He was ordained a priest of the diocese of Dodoma, Tanzania on 24 December 1960, at the age of 31 years. He served in that capacity until 26 June 1972.

Bishop

He was appointed bishop of the

on 26 June 1972 by The Holy Father

Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

. He was consecrated and installed at

Dodoma Dodoma ( in Gogo), officially Dodoma City (''Jiji Kuu la Dodoma'', in Swahili), is the capital city of Tanzania. With a population of 765,179, it is also the administrative capital of both Dodoma Municipal Council and the entire Dodoma R ...

on 17 September 1972 by the hands of Laurean Cardinal Rugambwa, Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam assisted by Archbishop Marko Mihayo, Archbishop of Tabora and Bishop Adriani Mkoba, Bishop of Morogoro. On 15 January 2005,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

accepted the request to retire from the pastoral care of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dodoma, presented by Bishop Matthias Joseph Isuja, who had turned 75 years of age in August 2004. The same day, The Holly Father appointed Bishop

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 ...

to succeed at Dodoma. Bishop Isuja stayed on as Bishop Emeritus of Dodoma.

Illness and death

For a period before his death, Bishop Isuja fell ill. He was admitted to the ''St. Gaspar Referral and Teaching Hospital'', in

Itigi Itigi is a town in central Tanzania. It is located in Itigi District of the Singida Region. The town is made up of the wards Itigi and Itigi Majengo. According to the 2012 Tanzania National Census, the population of these two wards combined was ...

Singida Region Singida Region (''Mkoa wa Singida'' in Swahili language, Swahili) is one of Tanzania's 31 administrative Regions of Tanzania, regions. The region covers a land area of . The region is comparable in size to the combined land area of the nation sta ...

, Tanzania. He died there on 13 April 2016. He was buried on 20 April 2016, at ''St. Paul of the Cross Cathedral'', in Dodoma. He was 87 years old.

Succession table

References

External links

Askofu Mathias Joseph afariki
(In Swahil language) (English: Bishop Mathias Joseph Has Died) {{DEFAULTSORT:Isuja, Matthias Joseph 1929 births 2016 deaths People from Dodoma Region 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Tanzania 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Tanzania Roman Catholic bishops of Dodoma Tanzanian Roman Catholic bishops