Pope Francis erects new diocese, names bishop in West African country of Guinea

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Feb 23, 2024 / 13:40 pm (CNA).

Pope Francis on Thursday erected the new Diocese of Boké in the West African country of Guinea, with the new bishopric coming from territory previously under the jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Conakry. 

According to the figures provided by the Holy See Press Office, in the new diocese the total population sits at 1,153,909, of which 10,225 are Catholic. There will be six parishes, 11 diocesan priests, one religious priest, four seminarians, and 12 religious sisters. 

Leading the new diocese will be Monsignor Moïse Tinguiano, who has served as the parish priest of the church of St. Augustin de Taouyah in Conakry since 2018.

Tinguiano was born on Dec. 11, 1977, and undertook his priestly studies at the minor seminary of Pope St. John XXIII in Kindia. He went on to study philosophy and theology at the St. Augustin Samayah Major Seminary in Bamako, Mali. He was ordained to the priesthood on Nov. 26, 2006, and since then has served in a variety of pastoral roles. 

The bishop-elect went on to obtain a doctorate in catechetics and youth ministry from the Salesian Pontifical University in Rome, concluding his studies in 2017. 

From 2018 he served as the pastor of the parish of Saint Augustin de Taouyah, as a professor in the Benedict XVI seminary, and as director of the Catholic Radio Station La Voix de la Paix (the Voice of the People). 

Conakry is the capital and most populous city in the predominantly Sunni Muslim western African country, with nearly 89% of its residents Muslim, while only 7% identify as Christian. 

There have been multiple initiatives undertaken in Boke to promote religious dialogue in the predominantly Muslim country.

In 2022 the new governor of the administrative region of Boke, Mamadou Camara, launched the first-ever series of meetings aimed at bridging sectarian divisions between religious groups and building regional and national unity. 

According to Camara, religion has played an invaluable role in promoting “social peace,” and the prayers from religious leaders have “allowed Guinea to avoid numerous social crises and political tensions.” 

The first Catholic missionaries arrived in Guinea in 1875, and in 1890 the Conakry Mission was established. Guinea became an apostolic prefecture in 1897 and was made an apostolic vicariate in 1920. The Archdiocese of Conakry was erected on Sept. 14, 1955.