Former apostolic nuncio honoured in Dunedin memorial

Archbishop Rugambwa died on September 16 last year in Rome. Originally from Tanzania, he was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to New Zealand and the Pacific in March 2019. He had served as secretary at the nunciature in Wellington for some years before being named as Apostolic Nuncio to Angola and to São Tomé and Príncipe in 2010.

Archbishop Rugambwa suffered a significant stroke in October 2023 and moved to Rome in March 2024 to continue his recovery.

St Joseph’s Cathedral parish priest Fr Vaughan Leslie said the memorial rose garden and stone were blessed in the cathedral grounds on Laetare Sunday, March 15.

The nuncio suffered the stroke only a few weeks before he was to visit St Joseph’s for the reinstallation of the Blessed Sacrament to the Cathedral’s high altar, Fr Leslie said.

“The faithful were very much looking forward to his visit and it is wonderful to have him now remembered in prayer in perpetuity. His motto when he was ordained a bishop (in 2010) was ‘Fides et Confidentia’ (Faith and Confidence),” Fr Leslie said.

Dunedin Bishop Michael Dooley “was very happy to enable this memorial to take place and the present Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Gábor Pintér, supported this initiative, which not only remembers Archbishop Rugambwa, but also honours the work and sacrifices of the Holy See’s Diplomatic Corps”, Fr Leslie said.

“This work is in the service of the Holy Father, representing him in the local community in a tangible way, supporting unity under the successors of St Peter.”

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Memorial Rose Garden and Stone blessed in memory of late nuncio (St Joseph’s Cathedral/Facebook)

Former Nuncio to New Zealand dies in Rome (CathNews New Zealand)