Cardinal Protase Rugambwa is a Tanzanian prelate with conservative Catholic views who has served both as a diocesan bishop and as a senior official in the Roman Curia.

Born on May 31, 1960, in Bunena, Tanzania, Rugambwa was born the same year that his namesake Cardinal Laurean Rugambwa who became the first African to be appointed cardinal. Protase was given the name Rugambwa in the hope that he would also become a cardinal.¹Protase Rugambwa’s father was a relative of the late Ambassador Andrew Tibandebage, who was Mwalimu Julius Nyerere’s roommate when they were teaching at St. Mary’s College, Tabora, in the late 1940s.

Rugambwa’s education included various minor seminaries in Katoke where the late John Magafuli who became Tanzania’s fifth President was his classmate. He then completed studies in philosophy at Kibosho Senior Seminary and theology at St. Charles Lwanga Segerea Senior Seminary.

He was ordained priest on September 2, 1990, by Pope John Paul II during the pontiff’s pastoral visit to Tanzania. He further enhanced his academic credentials by obtaining a doctorate in pastoral theology from the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome.

After obtaining his doctorate in 1998, he returned to Tanzania where he began to work as a seminary teacher, vocational director and secretary of the pastoral department of the diocese of Rulenge-Ngara, until 1999. From 2000 to 2002 Rugambwa was vicar general of the same diocese. He also worked as a hospital chaplain.

From 2002 to 2008, Rugambwa resided in Rome where he served as an official at the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples.

In 2008, he returned to Tanzania after Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as the Bishop of Kigoma. Four years later, he returned to Rome after Benedict appointed him Adjunct Secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples and president of the Pontifical Mission Societies. He was also elevated to archbishop.

In November 2017, Pope Francis promoted Rugambwa to the position of Secretary of the Congregation, a position he held until April 2023 when Pope Francis appointed him as the coadjutor archbishop of Tabora on April 13, 2023.

In September 2023, Pope Francis created him cardinal, and shortly after, on November 10, 2023, he succeeded as the Archbishop of Tabora.

Cardinal Rugambwa’s elevation to cardinal makes him the third cardinal Tanzanian cardinal in the country’s history, following in the footsteps of Cardinal Laurean Rugambwa, and Cardinal Polycarp Pengo who until recently was archbishop of Tanzania’s largest city, Dar es Salaam.

Cardinal Rugambwa has defended youth facing migration challenges. In a July 2022 report, he urged members of the Association of the Regional Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa (ACERAC) to defend the youth as they are vulnerable to the hardships of migration.

The Tanzanian cardinal appears to be aligned with traditional Catholic teachings, emphasizing faithfulness to the example of Christ. He has expressed concerns about the spread of ideas that promote “exaggerated freedom” and the influence of secular ideologies on Africa. His has also spoken of his fears of sectarianism and the challenge of other Christian denominations attempting to draw Catholics away from the Church.

On synodality, Cardinal Rugambwa has encouraged “building the synodal and missionary Church by emphasizing unity, participation and mission in service.”

He has not directly weighed in on same-sex blessings declaration Fiducia Supplicans and Africa’s opposition to the document. But he has stressed the importance of valuing African perspectives. When asked about those who might disregard the views of African Catholics, he said: “If they don’t value that, that is their problem. That’s their problem. But they will see it,” referring to Africa’s growth and increasing influence in the Church.

Cardinal Rugambwa speaks Swahili, English, and some Italian.