Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya
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His Eminence Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya |
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| Cardinal, Archbishop of Kinshasa | |
Archbishop Monsengwo Pasinya during the Procession of the Holy Blood
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| Province | Kinshasa |
| See | Kinshasa |
| Appointed | 6 December 2007 |
| Installed | 2 February 2008 |
| Predecessor | Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi |
| Other posts | Cardinal-Priest of S. Maria "Regina Pacis" in Ostia mare Member of the Council of Cardinals |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | 21 December 1963 by Grégoire-Pierre XV Agagianian |
| Consecration | 4 May 1980 by Pope John Paul II |
| Created Cardinal | 20 November 2010 by Pope Benedict XVI |
| Rank | Cardinal-Priest |
| Personal details | |
| Birth name | Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya |
| Born |
7 October 1939 Mongobele, Belgian Congo |
| Nationality | Congolese |
| Denomination | Roman Catholic |
| Previous post |
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| Motto | In fide veritatis (English: In faith truth) |
| Coat of arms |  |
Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya (born 7 October 1939) is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kinshasa and de facto primate of the Democratic Republic of Congo since his appointment by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. He became Cardinal in 2010.
Monsengwo Pasinya was born in Mongobele, Diocese of Inongo. He belongs to one of the royal families of Basakata; his second name, Monsengwo, means "nephew of the traditional chief".
He did his initial ecclesiastical studies at the Seminary of Bokoro and furthered them at the Major Seminary of Kabwe. where he studied philosophy. He was sent to Rome to attend the Pontifical Urbaniana University, and the Pontifical Biblical Institute. He also studied at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Jerusalem, where he was awarded a doctorate in biblical studies. He is the first African to obtain such a doctorate. He studied there under Father Carlo Maria Martini, S.J., the future cardinal. He was ordained to the priesthood on 21 December 1963 in Rome. After his ordination he did pastoral work and served as a faculty member at the Theological Faculty of Kinshasa for several years. He served as secretary-general of the Congolese Episcopal Conference from 1976 to 1980.
Pope John Paul II appointed him Titular Bishop of Acque Nuove di Proconsulare and Auxiliary Bishop of Kisangani on 13 February 1980. He was consecrated on 4 May 1980 in Kinshasa, in the open air, by Pope John Paul II, assisted by Agnelo Rossi, Cardinal Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and Albert-Joseph Malula, Archbishop of Kinshasa. He served as president of the Congolese Episcopal Conference, in 1980 and again in 1992. He was appointed Metropoliltan Archbishop of Kisangani on 1 September 1988. When dictator Mobutu Sese Seko was losing his grip on power in the mid-1990s, the country needed someone of unimpeachable integrity to engineer the transition. Archbishop Monsengwo Pasinya was appointed as president of the Sovereign National Conference in 1991, president of the High Council of the Republic in 1992 and speaker of a Transitional Parliament in 1994. He was widely seen as a champion of peace, dialogue and human rights. He served as Co-President of Pax Christi International from 2007 to 2010. He was transferred to the metropolitan see of Kinshasa by Pope Benedict on 6 December 2007 after the death of Cardinal Frédéric Etsou-Nzabi-Bamungwabi in January 2007. He has continued to raise his voice in defence of human rights, justice and peace.
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