Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya (7 October 1939 – 11 July 2021) was a Congolese prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the Archbishop of Kinshasa from 2007 to 2018. He became a cardinal in 2010. He was widely recognized as a champion of peace, dialogue, and human rights.

Early years

Monsengwo Pasinya was born in Mongobele, Diocese of Inongo. He belonged to one of the royal families of Basakata; his second name, Monsengwo, means "nephew of the traditional chief". He did his initial ecclesiastical studies at the Seminary of Bokoro and furthered them at the Major Seminary of Kabwe where he studied philosophy. He was sent to Rome to attend the

Pontifical Urbaniana University The Pontifical Urban University, also called the ''Urbaniana'' after its names in both Latin and Italian,; it, Pontificia Università Urbaniana. is a pontifical university under the authority of the Congregation for the Evangelization of People ...

, and the

Pontifical Biblical Institute The Pontifical Biblical Institute (also known as Biblicum) is a research and postgraduate teaching institution specialised in biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies. It is an institution of the Holy See entrusted to the Society of Jesus. His ...

. He also studied at the

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, where he was awarded a doctorate in biblical studies. He is the first African to obtain such a doctorate. He studied there under

Carlo Maria Martini Carlo Maria Martini (15 February 1927 – 31 August 2012) was an Italian Jesuit, cardinal of the Catholic Church and a Biblical scholar. He was Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2004 and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983. A towering ...

, S.J. who later became a cardinal and archbishop of Milan. He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

to the priesthood on 21 December 1963 in Rome. After his ordination he did pastoral work and served as a faculty member at the Theological Faculty of Kinshasa for several years. He was secretary-general of the Congolese Episcopal Conference from 1976 to 1980.

Episcopate

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

appointed him

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox a ...

Aquae Novae in Proconsulari Aquae Novae in Proconsulari is a former Ancient city and bishopric in Roman Africa and present Latin Catholic titular see. Its modern location are the ruins of Sidi-Ali-Djebin, in present Tunisia. History Aquae Novae was important enough in th ...

and Auxiliary Bishop of

Kisangani Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville or Stanleystad) is the capital of Tshopo province in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is the fifth most populous urban area in the country, with an estimated population of 1,312,000 in 2021, and the larg ...

on 13 February 1980. He was consecrated on 4 May 1980 in

Kinshasa Kinshasa (; ; ln, Kinsásá), formerly Léopoldville ( nl, Leopoldstad), is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Once a site of fishing and trading villages situated along the Congo River, Kinshasa is now one of ...

by Pope John Paul II, assisted by

Agnelo Rossi Agnelo Rossi (4 May 1913 – 21 May 1995) was a Brazilian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church and dean of the Sacred College of Cardinals. Biography Rossi was born on 4 May 1913 in Joaquim Egidio, Brazil, in the Diocese of Campinas. In 1933 h ...

, Cardinal Prefect of the

Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

, and

Joseph Malula Joseph-Albert Malula (12 December 1917 – 14 June 1989) was a Congolese Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Kinshasa (name changed from Leopoldville in 1966) from 1964 until his death, and was elevated to the car ...

, Archbishop of Kinshasa. He served as president of the Congolese Episcopal Conference in 1980 and again in 1992. He was appointed

Metropolitan Archbishop Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

of Kisangani on 1 September 1988. When dictator

Mobutu Sese Seko Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga (; born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu; 14 October 1930 – 7 September 1997) was a Congolese politician and military officer who was the president of Zaire from 1965 to 1997 (known as the Democratic Republic o ...

was losing his grip on power in the mid-1990s, the country needed someone of unimpeachable integrity to engineer the transition. Monsengwo Pasinya was appointed president of the Sovereign National Conference in 1991, president of the High Council of the Republic in 1992, and speaker of a Transitional Parliament in 1994. Pope Benedict XVI transferred him to the metropolitan see of Kinshasa on 6 December 2007 after the death of Cardinal

Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi, C.I.C.M. (; 3 December 1930, Belgian Congo – 6 January 2007, Leuven, Belgium) was cardinal and Archbishop of Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). He was the DRC's foremost Catholic prela ...

in January 2007. He served as Co-President of Pax Christi International from 2007 to 2010. He served two terms as head of the Congolese Bishops Conference and was president of the episcopal conference of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) from 1997 to 2003. He participated in the Synod of Bishops on several occasions. John Paul named him a member of the 2001 Synod. Pope Benedict XVI named him special secretary for the Synod of Bishops held in October 2008, and delegate-president for that of 2012. Pope Francis named him a papal delegate to the Synod of 2015 on the family in the Church and the modern world. In October 2009, addressing the Synod of Bishops' special assembly for Africa, he said: Pope John Paul named him a member of the

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace The Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace (''Justitia et Pax'') was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia dedicated to "action-oriented studies" for the international promotion of justice, peace, and human rights from the perspective of the ...

on 22 April 2002. On 20 November 2010 Pope Benedict made him

Cardinal-Priest A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

Santa Maria Regina Pacis a Ostia Lido Santa Maria Regina Pacis a Ostia Lido is a 20th-century parochial church and titular church in Ostia, southwest of Rome, dedicated to Mary, Queen of Peace. History In 1916, it was suggested to Vincenzo Vannutelli, Bishop of Ostia, to const ...

. On 11 December 2010, Benedict named him a member of the

Congregation for Catholic Education , type = Congregation , seal = Coat of arms Holy See.svg , seal_size = 100px , seal_caption = Coat of arms of the Holy See , logo = , picture =Via della Conciliazione din Roma1.jpg , picture_caption = Palazzo delle Congregazioni in Piazza ...

, on 29 December 2010 of the

, on 10 December 2011 of the

Pontifical Council for Culture The Pontifical Council for Culture ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Cultura) was a dicastery of the Roman Curia charged with fostering the relationship of the Catholic Church with different cultures. It was erected by Pope John Paul II on 20 May ...

, on 29 December 2011 of the

Pontifical Council for Social Communications The Pontifical Council for Social Communications ( la, Pontificium Consilium de Communicationibus Socialibus) was a dicastery of the Roman Curia that was suppressed in March 2016 and merged into the Secretariat for Communications (now " Dicas ...

, and on 5 March 2012 of the

. In December 2011 Monsengwo Pasinya contradicted Kabila when he assessed the 2011 election in the Congo by saying the results "do not conform either to truth or to justice". He was chosen to preach the

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Jesus, temptation by Satan, according ...

en spiritual exercises to Pope Benedict and the Roman Curia in 2012. In 2013, Monsengwo Pasinya was mentioned as a possible successor to Pope Benedict XVI. He was one of the

cardinal electors A cardinal ( la, Sanctae Romanae Ecclesiae cardinalis, literally 'cardinal of the Holy Roman Church') is a senior member of the clergy of the Catholic Church. Cardinals are created by the ruling pope and typically hold the title for life. Col ...

who participated in the

2013 papal conclave The 2013 papal conclave was convened to elect a pope to succeed Pope Benedict XVI following his resignation on 28 February 2013. After the 115 participating cardinal-electors gathered, they set 12 March 2013 as the beginning of the conclave. ...

that elected

Pope Francis Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013 ...

. On 13 April 2013, he was appointed to the

Council of Cardinals The Council of Cardinals (called C9 due to the fact it contained 9 cardinal members for some time), also known as the Council of Cardinal Advisers, is a group of cardinals of the Catholic Church appointed by Pope Francis to serve as his advise ...

, a group

established a month after his election to advise him and to study a plan for revising the Apostolic Constitution on the Roman Curia, ''Pastor Bonus''.

Later life

In January 2018, even as he approached retirement, he continued to protest violence on Kabila's part against protesters calling on him to abide by the constitutional restrictions in his term of office. Pope Francis accepted his resignation as Archbishop of Kinshasa on 1 November 2018. On 12 December 2018, the Vatican announced that Monsengwo Pasinya would be leaving the

as part of his retirement as well. He died on 11 July 2021 in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

; he had arrived there recently for medical care.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pasinya, Laurent Monsengwo 1939 births 2021 deaths Democratic Republic of the Congo cardinals 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Africa Cardinals created by Pope Benedict XVI Pontifical Urban University alumni Members of the Pontifical Council for Culture Members of the Congregation for Catholic Education Members of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications Members of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples Pontifical Biblical Institute alumni 21st-century cardinals Roman Catholic archbishops of Kinshasa Roman Catholic bishops of Inongo Roman Catholic bishops of Kisangani Roman Catholic archbishops of Kisangani

Early years

Episcopate

Later life

See also

References

External links