SOUTH SUDAN: Pope Francis Appoints New Bishop for South Sudan’s Yei Diocese
Msgr. Alex Lodiong Sakor Eyobo the appointed Local Ordinary of the Catholic Diocese of Yei
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Pope Francis has appointed Fr. Alex Lodiong Sakor Eyobo the Local Ordinary of the Catholic Diocese of Yei, South Sudan.
The announcement was published by the Vatican press Friday, February 11, when the Church marked the World Day of the Sick.
Monsignor Lodiong a Diocesan clergy of Yei is currently a Formator, teacher and treasurer of St. Paul National Major Seminary Juba, South Sudan.
The Diocese has been under Bishop Emeritus Erkolano Lodu Tombe whose resignation from pastoral care has been accepted by the Holy Father on the same day of Monsignor Eyobo’s appointment February 11.
Speaking to AMECEA online about the new appointment in South Sudan, Archbishop Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla of Juba Archdiocese whose jurisdiction Yei Diocese belongs, appreciated the move by the Pope saying, “I thank the Holy Father Pope Francis for elevating Rev. Fr. Alex Lodiong to be second Bishop of the Catholic diocese of Yei.”
“We are closing up the number of bishops for the seven Dioceses we have here in South Sudan, and we hope to have the last bishop for Torit soon and our joy will be complete,” Archbishop Ameyu who doubles as the Apostolic Administrator for Torit Diocese underscored in reference to the number of Dioceses that have been vacant in South Sudan.
He recalls that “at one time we had only one Bishop for the whole country,” but now the Sudan Catholic Bishops‘ Conference (SCBC) “has been replenished with new bishops and we thank God for hearing our prayers.”
Bishop-elect was ordained in June 2001, since then he has served as a parish Vicar, General Secretary of the same Diocese, Diocesan General Treasurer, Coordinator of Communication and Education, Diocesan Youth Chaplain. Rector of the Sant’Agostino Diocesan Minor Seminary in Yei.
Monsignor Lodiong studied Diploma in computer science at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, later he Studied Financial Management and Administration at CORAT Africa, Nairobi, and did his Licentiate in Biblical Theology at the Urbaniana University, Rome.
