Africa-Press – Angola. Thousands of citizens, Catholics and Evangelicals from all over the country paid, on Friday (4), the last tribute to Dom José Nambi, bishop of the Diocese of Cuito, who died last Monday and was buried in the Municipal Cemetery of this City.
The funeral service, marked by several tributes from bishops and priests of the various Catholic missions, was presided over by Archbishop Estanislau Chidencasse, Catholic bishop of Dundo and vice-president of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and São Tomé (CEAST).
The urn containing the body of Dom José Nambi descended from the tomb at 12:34 pm, in a moment that marked the definitive goodbye to a man who marked the society of Bié, especially in the most difficult moments experienced by the province during the 90s of the last century.
During the funeral services, which began on Thursday, at the Casa das Irmãs Monjas – a residence for mothers in the commune of Cunje -, and ended in the Cathedral of Cuito, with a mass of the body present, prayed by Dom Estanislau Tchindecasse, the people of Cuito – on behalf of the Angolan Catholic community -, he said goodbye to his bishop.
“You don’t need to carry the cross. He was always there, in the most difficult moments of the situation in Angola, taking care of his own, those who always looked to him for a form of affection any fears”, underlined the Archbishop Emeritus of Huambo, Archbishop Francisco Vitti.
President sends delegation
The Secretary of the President of the Republic for the Social Area, Fátima Viegas, represented the Head of State at the funeral of the Bishop of Cuito.
Fátima Viegas told that the President of the Republic expressed dismay when he learned of the physical passing of the head of the Catholic Church in Bié.
The President’s assistant highlighted the “unique qualities” of Dom José Nambi, whom she considered to be “a great religious leader” and who managed, during his life, to transmit to Christians values about the love that one should have for one’s neighbor, always with faith in God.
The deputy governor for the Political and Social Area of Bié, Alcida de Jesus Camateli, who represented the local government, said that Dom José Nambi made a great contribution to the social growth of populations in several locations in Bié, recalling that the Catholic prelate collaborated in the process of rebuilding several schools and health centers in the province.
Dom José Nambi, born on June 5, 1949, in the municipality of Londijimbo, located between the municipalities of Chinjenje, in Huambo province, and Ganda, in Benguela. In December 1995, Pope John Paul II appointed him coadjutor bishop of the Diocese of Cuito.
On January 15, 1997, Dom José Nambi became Bishop of the Diocese of Cuito, succeeding Dom Pedro Luís in that position.
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