The Holy Father has appointed as bishop of the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Rev. Fr. Toussaint Iluku Bolumbu, M.S.C., currently superior of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for the French-speaking African region, the Vatican announced May 13, 2019.
The bishop-elect was born in 1964 in Monieka, archdiocese of Mbandaka Bikoro. He entered the novitiate of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and holds a bachelor’s degree in theology from the Ecole Théologique Saint Cyprien in Ngoya-Yaoundé, Cameroon, a licentiate in philosophy from the Faculty of Saint Pierre Canisius in Kimwenza-Kinshasa, and a licentiate in spiritual theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University, Rome. He gave his religious vows in 1994 and was ordained a priest in 1995.
Since priestly ordination, he has served in a number of pastoral roles, including parish vicar, vice rector, bursar, and later superior and director of formation of the M.S.C. School in Yaoundé, teacher of philosophy, vice president of the Association of Major Superiors of the ecclesiastical province of Mbandaka-Bikoro; assistant to the secretariat general of the General Chapter of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Rome, and moderator of the General Conference of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Yaoundé. He is currently superior of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for the French-speaking African region.
