Monsignor Tonito Francisco Xavier Muananoua was recently named Auxiliary Bishop of Maputo by Pope Francis.

Newsroom (30/04/2023 10:00, Gaudium Press)  The solemn celebration of Episcopal ordination of Monsignor Tonito Francisco Xavier Muananoua, appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Maputo by Pope Francis, was presided by the Apostolic Nuncio in Mozambique, Archbishop Piergiorgio Bertoldi, last Sunday, April 23rd, in Maputo Cathedral.

The Metropolitan Archbishops of Maputo, Archbishop Francisco Chimoio; of Nampula, Archbishop Inácio Saúre; and of Beira, Archbishop Claudio Dalla Zuanna, as well as the Coadjutor Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Maputo and Vice President of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique (CEM), Archbishop João Carlos Hatoa Nunes; the Bishop of Gurué, Bishop Inácio Lucas and other members of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique, were concelebrating.

In his homily, the Apostolic Nuncio recalled that when Jesus “went to the mountain to pray and spent the night praying to God (Lk 6:12), […] not only the Twelve disciples took the attention of Jesus’ mind and the emotion of his heart, but also those who were to be taken to the apostolic ministry throughout the centuries,” indicating that Bishop Tonito was also in the Heart of Jesus.

Archbishop Bertoldi pointed out that “one of the most evocative gestures of the rite of ordination of a bishop is the placing of the Evangelium over the head of the chosen one. This is an invocation of the Holy Spirit so that the new bishop, can like Jesus, break the word and help to walk through paths that, enter into human and divine realities. At the same time, they open themselves to welcome the mystery of life. It is a mystery that can only be understood to the extent that it is illuminated by the cross. His cross and our crosses, those with which we are invited to burden ourselves in order to be His disciples” (Lk 9:23).

And finally, he pointed out that the episcopal ministry of Bishop Tonito should be “that of a proclamation of the word made in an attentive and interested listening to the life of men that leads to fraternity in order to celebrate the Eucharist and share it with those ‘to whom his grace suffices'”.

Compiled by Florence MacDonald

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