BAHIR DAR, JANUARY 20, 2015(CISA) – Pope Francis has erected a new Diocese in Ethiopia which will be known as the Diocese of Bahir Dar – Dessie.
The new diocese in Ethiopia has joined together the two districts of Bahir Dar and Dessie. The new diocese or eparchy will have as its new Bishop, Lisane-Christos Matheos.
Until his appointment on Monday January 19, Bishop Matheos was the Auxiliary Bishop of Addis Ababa.
The new Bishop of Bahir Dar – Dessie, Lisane-Christos Matheos was born in 1959 in Addis Ababa. He was ordained priest in 1988 and holds a degree in spirituality from the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas in Rome. The headquarters of the new diocese will be in Bahir Dar.
At the same time, Pope Francis has also erected the Metropolitan Church of Eritrea in Asmara. Although Eritrea as a nation got its independence in 1991 the Catholic Church of Ethiopia and Eritrea have always been regarded as one Episcopal conference. The two are now separate.
Pope Francis further appointed as first Metropolitan Archbishop of Asmara the current Bishop, (of Asmara) Menghesteab Tesfamariam.
