Cesare Mazzolari

Cesare Mazzolari (or: Caesar Mazzolari, 9 February 1937–16 July 2011) was the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rumbek, in the newly-independent Republic of South Sudan.

Bishop Mazzolari was born Feb. 9, 1937 in Brescia, Italy. He joined the Comboni Missionaries, and on 17 March 1962 was ordained a priest in San Diego, USA. His mission brought him to Cincinnati, in the United States, where he worked among African American and Mexican American miners.

In 1981, in response to the invitation of Bishop Joseph Gasi, he was appointed by his Comboni Congregation to the Diocese of Tombura-Yambio then the south-central Archdiocese of Juba, Southern Sudan. He was then aged 44. In that diocese, he worked in Nzara parish as curate and he was a sought-after Spiritual Director at St. Joseph’s Minor Seminary at Rimenze, Yambio. From there, he went to Juba to serve as Comboni Provincial of Southern Sudan for six years.

In 1990, he was appointed Apostolic Administrator of the war-torn Diocese of Rumbek (Southern Sudan). He zealously set to work, re-opening missions and negotiating humanitarian assistance and the freedom of very young slaves. That same year, he helped free 150 child slaves.

He rebuilt the Diocese of Rumbek almost from scrap, as the two Southern Sudanese Secession Wars (1955-1973 and 1083-2005) had devastated the country and the Government of Khartoum had expelled all foreign missionaries from the country in the 1960ies. In 1991, he reopened the mission of Yirol, the first of many, some of which subsequently had to be abandoned during the protracted Second Sudanese Civil War. In 1994 he was captured and held hostage for 24 hours by guerrillas of the SPLA (Sudan People's Liberation Army), the separatist armed group fighting against the Khartoum government. On 6 January 1999 he was ordained a bishop by Pope John Paul II. ^[1][2][3]

He took to heart the mandate given to him on that day by the Holy Father, John Paul II, namely, to relieve “a people who have suffered too much for too long” from “the anguish of an unjust war” and “to help them to restore the dignity of their human rights.” And indeed, his years as Bishop of Rumbek reflect his faithfulness to this extraordinary and challenging mission.

Bishop Mazzolari promoted formal and informal education through the establishment of learning institutions. He coordinated the provision of health services. He passionately responded to human need at every level. And to answer the educational, health, pastoral and humanitarian needs of the geographically vast diocese, he went beyond the borders of Sudan to seek help from religious congregations worldwide. Today every continent is represented in the Diocesan personnel of Rumbek Diocese. He also worked tirelessly to promote reconciliation among our people, always optimistic and courageous in the face of often apparently insurmountable obstacles.

On Saturday, July 9, 2011, Bishop Mazzolari joyfully witnessed the birth of the Republic of South Sudan when he presided over the official opening prayer during the Independence Day celebration at Freedom Square in Rumbek. This event was also a culmination of his unique pastoral initiative, Ten Steps to Unity in South Sudan.

Bishop Mazzolari died a week after those events on 16 July 2011, at the age of 74, while concelebrating a Mass; he abruptly gasped for air and clutched at his chest and fell back, leading many to believe his death was from cardiopulmonary disease-related causes. He was widely mourned and appreciated for having seen the region and the country through the war, to the cessation of much of the hostilities, and finally to independence.^[4]

Notes

1. ^ Independent Catholic News: "South Sudan: Peacemaker Bishop Mazzolari has died" July 17, 2011
2. ^ Vatican Radio: "Catholic Diocese of Rumbek: The death of Bishop Caesar Mazzolari" July 19, 2011
3. ^ Cincinnati Herald: "Comboni Bishop Caesar Mazzolari dies" July 18, 2011.
4. ^ Bishop Cesare Mazzolari