Tadeusz Zbigniew Kusy, O.F.M. (2 December 1951 – 31 March 2024) was a Polish

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

missionary and bishop of

Kaga-Bandoro Kaga-Bandoro (formerly Fort-Crampel and Crampel) is a market town and capital of the Nana-Grébizi prefecture of the Central African Republic. It represents the seat of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kaga–Bandoro. The town has been renamed twi ...

in the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to Central African Republic–Chad border, the north, Sudan to Central African Republic–Sudan border, the northeast, South Sudan to Central ...

Biography

Born in

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; ; ) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitants ( and lies opposite Český Těšín in the Czech Repu ...

, Kusy became a member of the

Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Katowice Katowice (, ) is the capital city of the Silesian Voivodeship in southern Poland and the central city of the Katowice urban area. As of 2021, Katowice has an official population of 286,960, and a resident population estimate of around 315,000. K ...

in 1968. He made his perpetual vows in 1974, and was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

to the priesthood on 15 April 1976. After working in parish in Katowice Panewniki, he became a missionary in

Zaire Zaire, officially the Republic of Zaire, was the name of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1971 to 18 May 1997. Located in Central Africa, it was, by area, the third-largest country in Africa after Sudan and Algeria, and the 11th-la ...

in 1979. In the years 1986–1989 he studied at the Institute of Science and Theology of Religions in Paris, France. He returned to the

in 1986. Father Kusy was an educator of young brothers in Bimbo in the

Archdiocese of Bangui The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangui () is the Metropolitan See for the ecclesiastical province of Bangui in the Central African Republic. History * 8 May 1909: Established as Apostolic Prefecture of Oubangui-Chari from the Apostolic Vica ...

. He chaired the commission for the consecrated life, and was a member of the Archbishop's college of consultors. On 31 May 2014,

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 ...

appointed him

bishop coadjutor A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of Kaga-Bandoro. Father Kusy received his

episcopal consecration A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

on the following 15 August from

Dieudonné Nzapalainga Dieudonné Nzapalainga, CSSp (born 14 March 1967) is a Central African prelate of the Catholic Church who has been the Archbishop of Bangui since 2012, where he served as apostolic administrator from 2009 to 2012. He has been president of the ...

, Archbishop of

Bangui Bangui (; or Bangî in Sango language, Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities in the Central African Republic, largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a Fren ...

, with bishop of Kaga-Bandoro, Albert Vanbuel, and bishop emeritus of

Kole Kole Weathers is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. She is a short-lived member of the Teen Titans who possesses the ability to generate crystals. Kole was introduced and killed during the events of ' ...

in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

, Stanislas Lukumwena Lumbala, serving as

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churche ...

. On 27 September 2015, he was named bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Kaga-Bandoro. Kusy died on

Easter Sunday Easter, also called Pascha (Aramaic: פַּסְחָא , ''paskha''; Greek language, Greek: πάσχα, ''páskha'') or Resurrection Sunday, is a Christian festival and cultural holiday commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, de ...

, 31 March 2024, at the age of 72.Zmarł bp Tadeusz Kusy OFM

References

External links

1951 births 2024 deaths People from Cieszyn Roman Catholic missionaries in the Central African Republic Polish Roman Catholic priests 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Central African Republic Polish expatriates in the Central African Republic Franciscan missionaries Franciscan bishops Roman Catholic bishops of Kaga-Bandoro {{Poland-RC-bishop-stub