| Type: | archbishop |
| Novatus Rugambwa | |
| Appointed: | 29 March 2019 |
| Predecessor: | Martin Krebs |
| Birth Name: | Novatus Rugambwa |
| Birth Date: | 8 October 1957 |
| Birth Place: | Bukoba, Tanzania |
| Novatus Rugambwa | |
| Dipstyle: | |
Novatus Rugambwa (born 8 October 1957)[1] is a Tanzanian prelate of the Catholic Church and diplomat of the Holy See.[2]
Novatus Rugambwa was born on 8 October 1957, in Bukoba, Tanzania, and was ordained a priest on 6 July 1986, for the Diocese of Bukoba. He holds a degree in canon law. In 1987 he was admitted to the Pontifical Ecclesiastical Academy to study diplomacy.[3]
Rugambwa entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See on 1 July 1991, and served in the pontifical diplomatic missions in Panama, Republic of Congo, Pakistan, New Zealand and Indonesia.[4] He was named undersecretary of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerants on 28 June 2007.
On 6 February 2010 he was named Titular Archbishop of Tagaria and apostolic nuncio to São Tomé and Príncipe.[5] He was named apostolic nuncio to Angola on 20 February 2010 as well.[6] His episcopal consecration took place on 18 March 2010; Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone was the principal consecrator, with bishops and Nestorius Timanywa, as principal co-consecrators.[7]
Pope Francis named him nuncio to Honduras on 5 March 2015.[8]
On 29 March 2019, Pope Francis named Rugambwa apostolic nuncio to New Zealand and apostolic delegate to the countries of the Pacific Ocean.[9] [10] On 25 May the responsibilities of Apostolic Nuncio to Fiji and to Palau were assigned to him.[11] On 30 November he was given additional responsibility as Apostolic Nuncio to the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru, and Tonga.[12] On 17 April 2020, he was named Apostolic Nuncio to Samoa as well.[13] On 2 February 2021, Rugambwa was appointed Apostolic Nuncio to the Cook Islands, a post that had been vacant since 2018,[14] and on 30 March to Micronesia.[15]
On 29 October 2023, Rugambwa suffered a severe stroke. He first remained at Wellington Hospital in a serious, but stable condition.[16] [17] As a result, he has not been able to attend events, primarily: The Presentation of the Pallium to Archbishop Paul Martin (5 November) at St Mary of the Angels, Wellington and the reinstatement of the Blessed Sacrament into the High Altar and blessing of the Cathedral Angels of St Joseph's Cathedral, Dunedin (19 November). On 23 November, the New Zealand Catholic Bishops' Conference announced he was transferred Kenepuru Hospital to begin his rehabilitation proper.[18] He travelled to Rome in March 2024 to continue his rehabilitation at a Catholic facility there.[19]
On 27 July 2024, he resigned his position as nuncio to New Zealand and delegate to the Pacific Ocean.[20]