Thomas Luke Msusa, S.M.M. (born 2 February 1962) is

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Blantyre in Malawi. He is a convert to the Catholic Church from Islam.

Life

He is the son of a Muslim

imam Imam (; ar, إمام '; plural: ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a worship leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Islamic worship services, lead prayers, ser ...

and at the age of seven left his village to study. He

converted Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

to the Catholic Church and was

baptized Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...

at the age of twelve and after this entered the seminary, facing opposition of his family due to his conversion. Upon his return, he was rejected by his family except his uncle, himself a convert to the Catholic Church. On 3 August 1996, Msusa was ordained to priesthood in the Company of Mary. His appointment as Catholic bishop was on 19 December 2003 by Pope John Paul II and on 17 April 2004 was ordained bishop to the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Zomba The Roman Catholic Diocese of Zomba ( la, Zombaën(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Zomba in the Ecclesiastical province of Blantyre in Malawi. History * May 15, 1952: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Zomba from the Apostolic Vica ...

Orlando Antonini Orlando Antonini (born 15 October 1944) is an Italian prelate of the Catholic Church who worked in the diplomatic service of the Holy See from 1980 to 2015, as an archbishop and apostolic nuncio from 1999 to 2015. Biography Orlando Antonini wa ...

, with the principal

co-consecrators A consecrator is a bishop who ordains someone to the episcopacy. A co-consecrator is someone who assists the consecrator bishop in the act of ordaining a new bishop. The terms are used in the canon law of the Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches, ...

being Tarcisius Gervazio Ziyaye,

Archbishop of Blantyre The Archdiocese of Blantyre is the metropolitan see for the ecclesiastical province of Blantyre in Malawi. The cathedral church of the archdiocese is the Our Lady of Wisdom Cathedral, Blantyre. The Archdiocese of Blantyre is . Out of a total p ...

, and Allan Chamgwera,

bishop emeritus of Zomba The Roman Catholic Diocese of Zomba ( la, Zombaën(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Zomba in the Ecclesiastical province of Blantyre in Malawi. History * May 15, 1952: Established as Apostolic Vicariate of Zomba from the Apostolic Vica ...

. After his ordination to the episcopate, his father asked him to enter himself also within the Catholic Church and Monsignor Msusa then baptised him in 2006 after he attended a

catechetical instruction The role of a Catholic catechist is to catechize, catechise (teach) the Catholic theology, faith of the Catholic Church by both word and example. Catechising To catechize means to teach: more specifically, to teach by word of mouth. Prior to th ...

. On 21 November 2013 he was appointed to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Blantyre and on 8 February 2014 was installed on the archbishopric. In 2015, he was appointed vice president of the association of eight members of the

Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa The Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) is the association of episcopal conferences of Eastern Africa and the coordinating body of the Catholic dioceses. The AMECEA was established in 1961, with Cardinal Archbish ...

and participated in the

Fourteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops The Fourteenth Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops, popularly referred to as the Synod on the Family, took place from 4 to 25 October 2015 with the theme of "the vocation and mission of the family in the Church and in the contemp ...

References

External links

* http://www.catholic-hierarchy.org/bishop/bmsusa.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Msusa, Thomas Luke 1962 births Living people Converts to Roman Catholicism from Islam Malawian former Muslims Malawian Roman Catholic archbishops Roman Catholic bishops of Zomba Roman Catholic archbishops of Blantyre