Makeni Apostolic Administrator appointed titular Bishop of Gadiaufala

In Sierra Leone, Pope Francis has elevated Very Reverend Father Natale Paganelli, the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Makeni to the office of Bishop. Bishop-elect Paganelli has been assigned the titular see of  Gadiaufala. He is a member of the religious congregation of Xaverians who are working in Sierra Leon. Fr. Paganelli is originally from Bergamo in Italy.

On 7 January 2012 Pope Benedict XVI accepted the resignation of the then Bishop of Makeni, Bishop George Biguzzi when the latter reached the age limit of 75 years. Bishop Henry Aruna, of the Diocese of Kenema, in the South East of Sierra Leone, was chosen as new Bishop of Makeni. Bishop Henry Aruna was however not able to make his entry into the Diocese. Today, the Holy Father, Pope Francis nominated Bishop Henry Aruna as new Auxilliary Bishop of the Diocese of Kenema. He has been assigned the titular title of Nasbinca. 

Makeni Diocese is located in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone with a total population of about one million eight hundred people. The Northern part of Sierra Leone is predominantly Muslim. The Diocese of Makeni was first established as an Apostolic Prefecture of the Archdiocese of Freetown and Bo in the year 1952. In 1962, it was elevated to a diocese with Bishop Augustus Azzolini as its first Bishop.

The first missionaries to evangelise the area were the Holy Ghost Fathers from Ireland and the Xaverian Missionaries from Italy.

According to statistics of 2014, the Diocese of Makeni has a total of 61 diocesan and religious  priests as well as 40 Female Religious. The total number of parishes is 25. There are also several health and educational institutions that are run by the Catholic Church.

The eleven-year civil war in Sierra Leone  (1991–2002) left untold suffering in the lives of its citizens. Sierra Leone’s has also suffered greatly from the disease, Ebola which first occurred in May 2014. Although Ebola cases have greatly declined, sporadic new infections are still being reported. The Ebola situation now is not as it was when the disease peaked in 2014.

Email: engafrica@vatiradio.va