{"id":149030,"date":"2026-02-23T19:42:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T19:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/jk-eulogizes-cardinal-pengo-heading-to-his-feb-28-burial"},"modified":"2026-02-23T20:32:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T20:32:06","slug":"jk-eulogizes-cardinal-pengo-heading-to-his-feb-28-burial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/jk-eulogizes-cardinal-pengo-heading-to-his-feb-28-burial","title":{"rendered":"JK Eulogizes Cardinal Pengo Heading to his Feb 28 Burial"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ap-summary\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n<h4>What You Need to Know<\/h4>\n<p>Former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has expressed his condolences following the death of Polycarp Cardinal Pengo, who passed away on February 19, 2026. Kikwete emphasized the loss felt by all Tanzanians, not just the Catholic Church, and acknowledged Cardinal Pengo&#8217;s significant contributions to the nation&#8217;s development throughout his life.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Tanzania. <\/strong> <\/span>THE former Tanzanian President, Jakaya Kikwete, has sent condolences following the death of Polycarp Cardinal Pengo, describing the nation\u2019s loss of a spiritual leader who made significant contributions to the country\u2019s development.<\/p>\n<p>Retired Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam, Polycarp Cardinal Pengo, passed away on the night of February 19, 2026, at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI), where he was receiving treatment at the age of 82.<\/p>\n<p>In his letter to the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam, Thaddaeus Ruwa\u2019ich, Kikwete said that the loss is not only for the Catholic Church but for all Tanzanians.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am writing to extend my heartfelt condolences on the great loss you have suffered due to the passing of His Eminence Cardinal Polycarp Pengo. It is a loss for all of us,\u201d Kikwete wrote.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that throughout his life and service to the Church, Cardinal Pengo made an important contribution to the country\u2019s development, impacting the lives of Tanzanians of all ages and faiths.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI join you in praying for his peaceful rest and asking God to grant him a place in paradise. Amen,\u201d Kikwete wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Polycarp Cardinal Pengo served as the Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam and was a prominent figure in Tanzania&#8217;s religious and social landscape. His leadership and contributions to community development were recognized across various sectors, impacting many lives. Cardinal Pengo&#8217;s passing marks a significant moment for the Catholic Church and the broader Tanzanian society, reflecting on the legacy of spiritual leaders in shaping national values and unity. His influence extended beyond religious boundaries, fostering dialogue and cooperation among different faiths in Tanzania.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Tanzania<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What You Need to Know Former Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete has expressed his condolences following the death of Polycarp Cardinal Pengo, who passed away on February 19, 2026. Kikwete emphasized the loss felt by all Tanzanians, not just the Catholic Church, and acknowledged Cardinal Pengo&#8217;s significant contributions to the nation&#8217;s development throughout his life. Africa-Press [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":149029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[15275,8753,2662,15276,711],"class_list":["post-149030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-cardinal-pengo","tag-catholic-church","tag-jakaya-kikwete","tag-spiritual-leader","tag-tanzania"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>JK Eulogizes Cardinal Pengo Heading to his Feb 28 Burial - Tanzania<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former President Kikwete expresses condolences for Cardinal Pengo&#039;s passing, highlighting his contributions to Tanzania.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/jk-eulogizes-cardinal-pengo-heading-to-his-feb-28-burial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"JK Eulogizes Cardinal Pengo Heading to his Feb 28 Burial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former President Kikwete expresses condolences for Cardinal Pengo&#039;s passing, highlighting his contributions to Tanzania.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/jk-eulogizes-cardinal-pengo-heading-to-his-feb-28-burial\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Tanzania\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-23T19:42:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-23T20:32:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/sites\/17\/2026\/02\/sm_1771878601.148748.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"967\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"636\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/jk-eulogizes-cardinal-pengo-heading-to-his-feb-28-burial#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/jk-eulogizes-cardinal-pengo-heading-to-his-feb-28-burial\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"JK Eulogizes Cardinal Pengo Heading to his Feb 28 Burial\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-23T19:42:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-23T20:32:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/jk-eulogizes-cardinal-pengo-heading-to-his-feb-28-burial\"},\"wordCount\":357,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/jk-eulogizes-cardinal-pengo-heading-to-his-feb-28-burial#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/sites\/17\/2026\/02\/sm_1771878601.148748.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Cardinal Pengo\",\"catholic church\",\"Jakaya Kikwete\",\"spiritual leader\",\"tanzania\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/jk-eulogizes-cardinal-pengo-heading-to-his-feb-28-burial#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/jk-eulogizes-cardinal-pengo-heading-to-his-feb-28-burial\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/tanzania\/all-news\/jk-eulogizes-cardinal-pengo-heading-to-his-feb-28-burial\",\"name\":\"JK Eulogizes Cardinal Pengo Heading to his Feb 28 Burial - 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