It was with deep regret and shocking surprise that the Inter-Regional Association of Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) received the news of the departure to the Eternal Father of His Excellency Most Reverend José Nambi, Bishop of Kwito-Bié, Angola, member of the Episcopal Conference of Angola and S. Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST) and IMBISA.
Bishop José Nambi was ordained a bishop on March 17, 1996, after being appointed by Pope John Paul II as Coadjutor Bishop of Kwito-Bié on December 15, 1995. After a successful episcopal ministry, D. Nambi was appointed bishop of Kwito-Bié on January 15, 1997, where he served until he surrendered his soul to the Father.
IMBISA loses one of its members who was deeply involved in the affairs of the region. He attended the most recent IMBISA 13th Plenary Assembly, held in Windhoek; Namibian in September 2022. Bishop Nambi leaves a legacy for those of us who are still pilgrims in this land.
“If the certainty of death saddens us, the promise of immortality comforts us,” one of the dead’s prefaces says. We are confident that the Lord, the owner of life, will welcome him in His Glory. Because he does not defraud those who trust him.
IMBISA expresses its heartfelt condolences and closeness and comfort to his religious family, the people of God of the Diocese of Kwito-Bié, whom he served without reservation, the Episcopal Conference of Angola and S. Tomé and Principe, where he leaves a void, and assures you of our prayers that the Lord will take away his weaknesses, grant him well-deserved rest, and comfort all those who mourn his death.
May the Lord give him eternal rest!