The Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC) is the conference of bishops of the

Roman 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 ...

in Tanzania. Founded in 1956, the Episcopal Conference was officially recognized by the government in 1957. It includes all the

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 ...

bishops of the country, ordinary, and auxiliary emeritus. Its headquarters is located in the capital

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 ...

. The statutes of the Conference were approved by the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

on January 8, 1980. The TEC is a member of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) and Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM).

Structure

The TEC consists of the following institutions: the Plenary Assembly, the Permanent Council, the Secretary-General, eight departments, three research units, eight commissions. The authority and responsibility for managing the activities of TEC are granted Plenary Assembly, composed of all members, which meets once a year and is chaired by the President of the Conference. The management of the TEC is instead assigned to the Permanent Council, assisted by the Secretariat General. The Permanent Council is composed of the President of the Presiding Bishop of TEC and the Departments of TEC. The duties of the Secretary General are to organize the work of the Plenary Assembly, to implement its decisions, to liaise between the dioceses of the country. The TEC is then composed of eight departments (finance, pastoral, health, charity, communications, lay apostolate, education and seminars, liturgy), three units (including the ecclesiastical charge of building) and eight Commissions (armed forces and prisons, Migrants, Theology, Canon Law, Justice and Peace, Ecumenism, Consecrated Life).

List of presidents

1969–1970: Placidus Nkalanga, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bukoba 1970-1976: James Dominic Sangu, Bishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mbeya 1976–1982: Mario Epifanio Abdallah Mgulunde, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Iringa, later Archbishop of Tabora 1982–1988: Anthony Mayala, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Musoma 1988–1994: Josaphat Louis Lebulu, Bishop of Arusha, later Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Arusha 1994–2000: Justin Tetmu Samba, Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Musoma 2000–2006: Severine Niwemugizi, Bishop of Rulenge-Ngara 2006–2012: Jude Thaddaeus Ruwa'ichi, Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mwanza, later Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam 2012–2018: Tarcisius Ngalalekumtwa, Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Iringa 2018 – 2024: Gervas John Mwasikwabhila Nyaisonga, Archbishop of Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Mbeya 2024 - present: Wolfgang Pisa, Bishop of Roman Catholic Diocese of Lindi

References

{{Reflist

External links

* http://www.rc.net/tanzania/tec/index.htm * http://www.gcatholic.org/dioceses/country/TZ.htm * http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/country/tz.html

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 ...

Catholic Church in Tanzania Christian organizations established in 1956 1956 establishments in Tanganyika