Paulos Tzadua (25 August 1921–11 December 2003) was the first

Ethiopian Ethiopians are the native inhabitants of Ethiopia, as well as the global diaspora of Ethiopia. Ethiopians constitute several component ethnic groups, many of which are closely related to ethnic groups in neighboring Eritrea and other parts o ...

Cardinal. He served as Archbishop of Addis Abeba and was the head of the

Ethiopian Catholic Church The Ethiopian Catholic Church ( am, የኢትዮጵያ ካቶሊክ ቤተ ክርስቲያን; la, Ecclesia Catholica Aethiopica) is a metropolitan '' sui iuris'' Eastern particular church within the Catholic Church, established in 1930 in Eth ...

from 1977 to 1998.

Life

Paulos Tzadua was born on 25 August 1921 in Addifini of Tsenadegle, Akeleguzay,

Eritrea Eritrea ( ; ti, ኤርትራ, Ertra, ; ar, إرتريا, ʾIritriyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of Eastern Africa, with its capital and largest city at Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia i ...

. He studied in the Italian High School of

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude and the second highest capital in Africa. The c ...

and later he earned a degree in law at the

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (English: ''Catholic University of the Sacred Heart'', colloquially the ''Catholic University of Milan''), known as UCSC or UNICATT or simply Cattolica, is an Italian private research university founded in 19 ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city has ...

. Paulos Tzadua was ordained

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on 12 March 1944 and served for five years in missions in Ethiopia. He continued his studies in Asmara and later in Milan and in 1960 he became the secretary to the archbishop of Addis Abeba. From 1961 to 1973 he taught at the

Addis Ababa University Addis Ababa University (AAU) ( am, አዲስ አበባ ዩኒቨርሲቲ) is a national university located in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is the oldest university in Ethiopia. AAU has thirteen campuses. Twelve of these are situated in Addis Ababa, ...

. On 1 March 1973 he was chosen as auxiliary bishop of Addis Abeba and was consecrated bishop on 20 May 1973 by Archbishop Asrate Mariam Yemmeru. On 24 February 1977 he succeeded to Archbishop Asrate Yemmeru as Ethiopian Catholic Archbishop of Addis Abeba. He was created

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. Co ...

of Santissimo Nome di Maria in Via Latina in the consistory of 25 May 1985. He was the first Ethiopian Cardinal. At 77, Paulos Tzadua retired as head of the Archdiocese of Addis Abeba on 11 September 1998. He died in Rome on 11 December 2003, and his funeral were officiated by

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 ...

. He was buried in Adis Abeba.

Works

As a scholar, Paulos Tzadua is known for his 1968 English translation of the

Fetha Nagast The Fetha Negest ( gez, ፍትሐ ነገሥት, fətḥa nägäśt, Justice of the Kings) is a theocratic legal code compiled around 1240 by the Coptic Egyptian Christian writer Abu'l-Fada'il ibn al-Assal in Arabic. It was later translated into G ...

. As well as for his studies on the Ethiopic Liturgy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tzadua, Paulos 1921 births 2003 deaths Ethiopian Catholic Archbishops of Addis Abeba Cardinals created by Pope John Paul II Ethiopian cardinals