Polycarp Pengo (born 5 August 1944) is a Tanzanian

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Minister (Christianity), Christian clergy who is an Ordinary (church officer), ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which me ...

of the

Catholic Church 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 ...

who was

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

Dar-es-Salaam Dar es Salaam (, ; from ) is the largest city and financial hub of Tanzania. It is also the capital of the Dar es Salaam Region. With a population of over 7 million people, Dar es Salaam is the largest city in East Africa by population and the ...

, from 1992 to 2019. A bishop since 1983, he was made a

cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

in 1998.

Biography

Polycarp Pengo was born on 5 August 1944. He was ordained a priest in 1971 by Bishop Charles Msakila. He studied Moral Theology in Rome at the

Pontifical Lateran University The Pontifical Lateran University (; ), also known as Lateranum, is a pontifical university based in Rome. The university also hosts the central session of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family. The university ...

, obtaining a doctorate in 1977. He taught Moral theology in Kipalapala Theological Seminary for a short time, and then became the first Rector of Segerea Theological Seminary in Dar-es-Salaam up to 1983. He was made Bishop of Nachingwea (now Lindi) in 1983, and of Tunduru-Masasi in 1985. In 1990 he was named Coadjutor Archbishop of Dar es Salaam, and in 1992 he became Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, following the resignation of Cardinal

Laurean Rugambwa Laurean Rugambwa (12 July 1912 – 8 December 1997) was a Catholic Church in Tanzania, Tanzanian Catholic prelate who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dar-es-Salaam, Archbishop of Dar es Salaam from 1968 to 1992. He was made a Cardinal (Ca ...

. Pengo was proclaimed a

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 ...

in the

consistory Consistory is the anglicized form of the consistorium, a council of the closest advisors of the Roman emperors. It can also refer to: *A papal consistory, a formal meeting of the Sacred College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church *Consistor ...

of 21 February 1998. Pengo was one of the cardinal electors who participated in the 2005 papal conclave that elected

Pope Benedict XVI Pope BenedictXVI (born Joseph Alois Ratzinger; 16 April 1927 – 31 December 2022) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 19 April 2005 until his resignation on 28 February 2013. Benedict's election as p ...

and in the

2013 papal conclave A papal conclave was held on 12 and 13 March 2013 to elect a new pope to succeed Benedict XVI, who had resigned on 28 February 2013. Of the 117 eligible Cardinal electors in the 2013 papal conclave, cardinal electors, all but two attended. On th ...

that elected

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 ...

. He has the following

Curia Curia (: curiae) in ancient Rome referred to one of the original groupings of the citizenry, eventually numbering 30, and later every Roman citizen was presumed to belong to one. While they originally probably had wider powers, they came to meet ...

l Memberships Evangelization of the Peoples, Doctrine of Faith (congregations). Interreligious Dialogue, Culture (councils) Special Council for Africa of the General of the Synod of Bishops. Since 2007 he has been president of the SECAM (

Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar or SECAM () is an agency of the Catholic Church that comprises the bishops of Africa. History The SECAM was born, on the occasion of the Second Vatican Council, to express the will ...

). On 18 September 2012, he was appointed by

as a Synod Father for the October 2012 13th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.

accepted his retirement as archbishop on 15 August 2019.

Views

Homosexuality

In 2000, Pengo hit out at the commission of homosexual acts, saying it was one of the most heinous sins on earth.

Clashes in Tanzania

In 2004, he lashed out at the perpetrators of clashes claiming to pursue a religious cause.

Church teaching on AIDS

Pengo has declared that the AIDS epidemic cannot be overcome by relying exclusively or primarily on the distribution of prophylactics, but only through a strategy based on education to individual responsibility in the framework of a moral view of human sexuality.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pengo, Polycarp 1944 births Living people Pontifical Lateran University alumni Tanzanian cardinals Tanzanian Roman Catholic archbishops 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II 20th-century cardinals Roman Catholic archbishops of Dar-es-Salaam Roman Catholic bishops of Lindi Roman Catholic bishops of Tunduru–Masasi