MONROVIA – The Catholic Church in Liberia has announced the Episcopal Ordination of Very Rev. Monsignor Dr. Gabriel Blamo Snosio Jubwe as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Monrovia. The ordination is scheduled to take place on Saturday, May 4, 2024, at 10:00 a.m. at the Sacred Heart Cathedral on Broad Street in Monrovia. The Pontifical Mass is expected to be graced by international delegates from the Vatican in Rome, Italy, the United States of America, Europe, and Africa.
This event will bring together regional prelates from the Gambia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, and Nigeria, as well as local bishops and lay faithful from the three dioceses in Liberia: Cape Palmas, Gbarnga, and the Archdiocese of Monrovia. The ordination will be followed by a thanksgiving mass on Sunday, May 5, 2024, to be celebrated by the new Archbishop.
Monsignor Jubwe becomes the third Archbishop of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Monrovia, succeeding Archbishop Lewis Jerome Zeglier and Michael Kpakala Francis, both deceased. Bishop Zeglier resigned in 2021 before his passing in August 2022. Very Reverend Monsignor Jubwe will be ordained as Bishop and will immediately ascend to the throne as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Monrovia, marking the first such transition in the Catholic Church in Liberia.
On Tuesday, February 28, 2024, the Holy Father, Pope Francis, through the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Walter Erbi, wrote a letter appointing Most Very Rev. Monsignor Gabriel Blamo Jubwe as the new Archbishop of Monrovia. Monsignor Jubwe brings a wealth of experience, having served as a priest for over four decades within the Archdiocese of Monrovia and in various key roles.
The Protocol Committee for the Episcopal Ordination has announced that a reception after the Pontifical Mass will be held at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex for invited guests, while another reception will be held within the compound of the Sacred Heart Cathedral.