Archbishop Mbogha Kambale Charles, A.A. (1942-2005)

The oldest of the Augustinians of the Assumption, Archbishop Mbogha Kambale Charles, A.A.,  (63 years old) died in Bukavu (eastern Democratic Republic of Congo) on Sunday, October 9, 2005, at 2:37 AM (local time). The illness that led to his death (high blood pressure which resulted in a stroke) came to light during the ceremony on the day he was to become archbishop of Bukavu in June 2001. From that day he had been taking medication and following a regime of rehabilitation exercises, all the while completing his mission as well he could as the pastor and overseer of the Ecclesiastical Province of Kivu. During those four long years, Archbishop Charles proved to be a man of great faith.

In a country where every illness or every ill fate is attributed to bad spirits or bad peoples called sorcerers, Archbishop Charles evangelized the faithful of his Archdiocese by his faith, his hope, and his unfailing love towards all, always asking his hearers not to forget that suffering and sickness are part of our life, and that Jesus, in his death and resurrection, had shown us how to overcome suffering and death in our life. Archbishop Charles was for his priests a real father, a model and a witness of ministry in time of sorrow. For his Assumptionists brothers, he was an educator and a promoter of the inculturation of the Assumptionist religious life into the African culture. For Four Years (1998-2002), the bishops of Congo elected him the President of the Episcopal Committee for Religious Life. As assumptionist, Father Charles occupied all the posts of responsibility, in schools, in houses of formation, and in parishes. With a heart of a father and of an educator, Archbishop Charles was helping many young Congolese men and women to pay their school fees and get a good education because he believed only education in all its forms will transform Congo into a better place to live. The African Province has lost its elder but as the elder precedes us into God’s Kingdom, we know he will continue to play his role of elder among the many and intercede for the Province of Africa, the Assumptionist family, and the many dioceses he served as a bishop. Born at Lubango-Kilubo (Diocese of Butembo-Beni, Nord-Kivu, D.R.Congo) in 1942 and ordained priest in 1969, Charles Mbogha Kambale joined the Augustinians of the Assumption (A.A.) in 1972. Bishop of Wamba (1990-1995) and later of Isiro-Niangara (1996- 2001), he had become Archbishop of Bukavu in June 2001. Archbishop Charles Mbogha Kambale’s funeral will take place on Wednesday, October 12, in the Cathedral of Bukavu (Sud-Kivu, D.R.Congo), local Catholic Church where he was serving as archbishop.

Congolese around the world mourn Archbishop Charles, a.a

0ctober 9, 2005, at 4 p.m., in Butembo (Congo): The great assumption family and many friends of the assumptionists celebrated the Eucharist in memory of their brother Charles in the chapel of the Oblates Sisters “ Malkia Wa Mbingu”.
October 10, 2005 at 8 p.m. in Kinshasa (Congo): The formation house “ Emmanuel d' Alzon” where Archbishop Charles lived for a long time as a superior and for his convalescence, organized a wake and celebrated the Eucharist in memory of the elder brother Charles.
October 10, 2005 at 10 a.m. in Bukavu (Congo): Celebration of the Eucharist by Bishop Jean-Pierre Tafunga of Uvira.
October 11, 2005 at 10 a.m. in Bukavu (Congo): Celebration of the Eucharist by Fr. Jean-Marie Meso, aa, Provincial of the Assumptionist Province of Africa.
October 12, 2005 at 2 p.m. in Bukavu (Congo): Inhumation of Archbishop Charles! May his Soul rest in Peace!
October 12, 2005 at 4 p.m. in Due Pini, Rome (Italy): Celebration of the Eucharist by the General House of the Assumptionists and Congolese friends living in Rome.
October 12, 2005 at 7 p.m. in Washington, DC, (USA): Celebration of the Eucharist in Mary Queen of the Angels parish by Fr. Jean Marie Kabongo, omi.
October 14, 2005 at 4.p.m. in Nairobi, Kenya: The Assumptionistbrothers, thesisters odfof the Religious of the Assumption, the Orantessisters, together with their congolese friends in the Nairobi area will celebrate a high mass in loving memory of Archbishop Charles, a.a.
October 16, 2005 at 10.30 a.m. at Saint Mary’s Parish of LYNN, (Boston), MA, USA: Celebration of the Eucharist in memory of the archbishop Charles MBOGHA, a.a., by the Congolese Catholic Community “Mwinda” of Boston. Mayemba Bienvenu, s.j., Donatien Cicura Mushamalirwa, s.j., Vincent Machozi, a.a., and Seminarian Charles Madi, are coordinating the liturgy. After mass, a reception will be held at Mr Laurent LUKANDA’s house in Lynn, MA.
October 29, 2005 at 10 p.m. in Madrid, SPAIN: Celebration of the Eucharist by the Africans of "Comité de Solidaridad con el