Tanzanian envoy to Vatican attends requiem as Archbishop Rugambwa is laid to rest

DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA’S Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, responsible for East African Affairs, Dennis Londo, has met with the Vatican Ambassador to Tanzania, Archbishop Angelo Accattino, and conveyed condolences following the passing of Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa.

Representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation, Ambassador Mahmoud Thabit Kombo, Mr Londo was accompanied by Tanzania’s Ambassador to the Vatican, based in Berlin, Hassan Mwamweta.

Londo offered condolences after attending a holy mass for the requiem and farewell of the late Archbishop Rugambwa, which was held at St. Joseph’s Cathedral in Dar es Salaam.

Moreover, he also conveyed condolences from President Samia Suluhu Hassan to Ambassador and Archbishop Angelo Accattino, saying how the government and the people of Tanzania, especially the Catholic community, have been deeply affected by the loss.

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For his part, Ambassador Accattino thanked Tanzania for its all-time support, including during the period of mourning for the late Pope Francis, the former head of the Catholic Church.

The late Archbishop Novatus Rugambwa has been be laid to rest today at the Mater Misericordiae Cathedral in Bukoba.

Other prominent clerics buried at the same burial site include the late Laurian Cardinal Rugambwa and Bishop Nestorius Timanywa.

Archbishop Rugambwa passed away on September 16 at Gemelli Hospital in Rome after a period of illness. He was 67. His death has been received with deep sorrow both in Tanzania and abroad, where he faithfully served in several papal missions.