Ethiopian Catholic primate succeeded by Comboni missionary

The new Archbishop of Addis Ababa Abune Tesfaye Tadesse Gebresilasie was superior general of the Comboni Missionaries in 2015-22 and has served as general councilor for basic formation in English-speaking Africa and Mozambique.

Cardinal Berhaneyesus Deremew Souraphiel retried as Archbishop of Addis Ababa and head of the Ethiopian Catholic Church.

Pope Leo accepted his resignation on Friday, a month before the cardinal turns 78, and appointed Bishop Abune Tesfaye Tadesse Gebresilasie, 56, an auxiliary in Addis Ababa, to succeed him as archbishop.

Souraphiel has been an influential figure in the Catholic Church in East Africa in his 50 years of service to the Church, holding key positions including the chairmanship of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa in 2014-2018. He also served as chancellor of the Nairobi-based Catholic University of Eastern Africa.

John Paul II appointed him apostolic administrator of Addis Ababa in 1998 and archbishop the following year, from which point he served as president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia and Eritrea. Pope Francis made him a cardinal in 2015.

Although has been a strong advocate of peace, dialogue and reconciliation, Souraphiel faced criticism for failing to speak out more forcefully against the Ethiopian government during the 2020-2022 war in Tigray.

Born in eastern Ethiopia in 1948, Souraphiel initially attended schools run by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, before he was educated by the Capuchins and the De La Selles Brothers. He entered a minor seminary of the Congregation of the Mission in 1963, studied at the Makanissa Major seminary from 1968, and later at King’s College London. He was ordained a priest for the Vincentian order in 1976.

As a young priest, Souraphiel was imprisoned for seven months in 1979-80 by the military junta of Megestu Haile Mariam. After his release, he moved to Rome where he worked for the Vincentians and he studied philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University.

His successor Bishop Gebresilasie joined the Religious Institute of the Comboni Missionaries in 1986 and was ordained a priest in 1995. He studied at the Pontifical Gregorian University and holds a diploma in Islamic Studies from the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies. He also read Islamic studies at Dar Comboni for Arabic Studies in Cairo Egypt.

Gebresilasie has held senior positions within the Comboni Missionaries, serving as superior general in 2015-22, and as general councilor in charge of basic formation in English-speaking Africa and Mozambique.

It was during his tenure as superior general that Pope Francis met members of the Comboni Survivors Group, who suffered abuse at a minor seminary in Yorkshire run by the order. In a subsequent meeting with Gebresilasie and the order’s leadership, Francis urged them to communicate the Gospel with honesty and in a “clean” way.

Appointed an auxiliary bishop in November 2024, Gebresilasie was consecrated in February 2025 to support Cardinal Souraphiel in the pastoral care of the more than 11,000 Catholics in Addis Ababa. Pope Leo appointed him a member of the Dicastery for the Institute of Consecrated Life in June last year.

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