BY Nelson Manneh
Rev. Fr. Gabriel Mendy, C.S.Sp, will tomorrow 3rd February 2018, be ordained Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Banjul. Rev.
Fr. Gabriel Mendy, was given this holy call by Pope Francis. His appointment in November was preceded by the retirement of Bishop Robert Patrick Ellison, C.S.Sp, the current Bishop of Banjul. This most important and historic event will take place at the St. Anthony’s Parish Hall in Kololi. This is the first time the Catholic Diocese of Banjul, will have their own Gambian Bishop, after sixty years of existence. Rev. Giovanni Bichirri, an envoy from Rome, first made the announcement in Kololi; that this year, Rev. Dr. Robert P. Ellison who is 75 years, presented his resignation letter a few months before his 75th birthday; that this led to the appointment of Rev. Fr. Gabriel Mendy.
“Being aware of the conditions of the Diocese of Banjul, his resignation has been accepted and as the Charge D’ affairs of the Pope, I have the honor to communicate to all of you, that his holiness Pope Francis, has appointed Rev. Fr. Gabriel Mendy from the congregation of the holy ghost, as Bishop of the Diocese of Banjul. I take this opportunity to extend my sincere gratitude to the most Rev. Robert P. Ellison for the relentless sacrificial services he has rendered as the Bishop of Banjul,” Rev. Bichirri concludes.
Biography of Rev. Fr. Gabriel Mendy, C.S.Sp
Bishop Mendy was born on April 9th 1967 in Lamin, in the West Coast Region of the Gambia. He made his perpetual vow in the Congregation of the Holy Spirit on August 31st 1996 and was ordained on the 15th of November 1997. He studied at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, obtaining a degree in Theology in 1998 and a Ph.D. in Systematic Theology in 2009. Prior to his appointment as Bishop, Fr. Mendy served as a professor at the Spiritan International School of Theology in Enugu, Nigeria, since 2010. He as well served as it’s vice rector since 2011. According to the Holy See Press Office, Bishop Mendy has held the following roles: Pastoral Service at Saint Peter’s Parish and Saint Therese’s Parish (1997-1998); Collaborator in the Saint Martin of Porres Parish in Freetown, Sierra Leone (1997-1998); Teacher at the Major Pre-Seminary of Saint Kizito in Kenema, Sierra Leone and Pastor in the Holy Trinity Parish in Kenema (1999-2002); Pastor in the Parish of Santa Maria in Pendembu, Sierra Leone (2002-2004); Student at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, U.S.A. (2004-2009); Parish Vicar in Our Lady of the Sea Parish in New York, USA (2009-2010), where from 2006 to 2016, he served as a summer co-worker, before the holy call to God’s duty, by the Pope.
Foroyaa takes the opportunity to wish the new and first Gambian Bishop all the best, in his new responsibility.
