By CISA
QUELIMANE, SEPTEMBER 2, 2025 (CISA) – The Catholic Diocese of Quelimane in Mozambique has a new shepherd, Rt. Rev. Osório Citora Afonso, IMC, was solemnly installed as the fourth bishop of the diocese on Sunday, August 31, 2025, at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Deliverance.
Bishop Osório, formerly Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Maputo, was appointed by Pope Leo XIV on July 25 to succeed Bishop Hilário da Cruz Massinga, who was transferred to the Catholic Diocese of Inhambane in August 2023.
In his first message to the faithful on arrival in Quelimane on Thursday, August 28, the Consolata missionary called for unity and a shared pastoral journey.
“This pilgrimage continues. It is undertaken by all of us, so that we can walk together. Our journey is to walk together, to be together as brothers and sisters; a pilgrimage that does not end here, where we were welcomed, but which will continue,” he said.
He urged the faithful to pray for him and for the mission entrusted to him, saying: “May the Lord grant us this grace to always walk together, enlightened by the Word of God. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything, for the warm welcome. I ask you to pray for me, for this mission of mine, this mission of ours.”
The Episcopal Installation ceremony was presided over by Archbishop Cláudio Dalla Zuana of Beira and concelebrated by bishops from the dioceses of Tete, Lichinga, Gurué, Maputo, and the Diocese of Manzini in Eswatini, alongside numerous priests, religious men and women, faithful, and representatives of local and national government.
Delivering his inaugural homily, Bishop Osório recalled Jesus’ address in the synagogue at Nazareth (Lk 4:14-30), which marked the beginning of his public ministry.
“The first is that Jesus is guided by the Holy Spirit. From that moment on, Jesus is always guided by the Spirit. ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; therefore he anointed me and sent me.’ The second element underscores that Jesus is inspired and enlightened by the Word of God. At the beginning of our pastoral ministry, we want to emphasize the centrality of the Word of God in all the activity of our diocesan Church,” he said.
Reflecting on the Gospel of the 22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Lk 14:1, 7-14), he underlined the Gospel’s call to humility and preferential love for the poor.
“The banquet of the Kingdom of God has a very different seating arrangement than that of official earthly dinners. It is the last, the poor, those who count least on the scale of ‘social favor’ who receive preferential treatment. Jesus turns to the host and suggests that he modify the guest list, including the poor, the meek, the lame, and the blind,” he explained.
“The Lord challenges us to choose gestures, even small ones, shaped by a free and selfless relationship with people and things. We must learn to be humble in social service, in our work, and in the responsibilities we assume in the Church and beyond. It is this logic of humble service that we should also transmit to the sons and daughters of God,” he added.
The Catholic Diocese of Quelimane, established in 1954, has Our Lady of Deliverance as its patroness. Covering 57,798 square kilometers, it comprises 29 parishes and missions and nearly 1,930 Christian communities, serving approximately 1.36 million Catholics.
Biography
Born on May 6, 1972, in Ribaue (Nampula), , Bishop Osório was ordained priest in November 2002 after theological studies at Saint Eugene Mazenod Theological Seminary in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). He served in pastoral, formation, and administrative roles in Kinshasa and at the Apostolic Nunciature in the DRC, before earning a Licentiate in Sacred Scripture from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome.
He later worked at the Dicastery for Evangelization in Rome, and in September 2023 was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Maputo, receiving episcopal consecration in January 2024. Until his appointment, he also served as the Secretary General of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique (CEM).
(This story was first published on www.consolata.org by Fr. Jaime C. Patias, IMC, Communications Office of the Consolata Missionaries, with additional information from Fr. Cassiano Kalima, Regional Superior of Mozambique)
