The Vatican has announced the appointment of Mgr Jean Baptiste Valter Manga, of the Clergy of Ziguinchor (Senegal), as bishop of the diocese of Ziguinchor.
Currently vice-rector of the Notre-Dame de Brin Major Seminary and vicar of the Good Shepherd parish of Enampore, this Senegalese ecclesiastic was born on June 18, 1972 in Oussouye.
After studying philosophy at the Séminaire de Brin (1993-1995) and theology at the Major Séminaire de Sébikhotane (1995-2000), he obtained a degree in biblical theology at the Collège des Bernardins in Paris in 2009, followed by a doctorate in ethnology and anthropology at the School of Advanced Studies in Social Sciences, EHESS, in 2015.
Mr. Manga was ordained a priest on December 20, 2000. He then served as a professor of mathematics and natural sciences at the minor seminary of Ziguinchor and head of the vocations commission (2000-2006), before becoming parish priest St. Benedict in Nema (2015-2021).
At the same time, he was also a professor at the Major Seminary of Brin and at the Assane Seck University of Ziguinchor (2015 to date) as well as vicar of the Parish of Nyassia between 2021 and 2023. Since 2021, he has held the positions of secretary general of the overall pastoral care of the diocese and responsible for the continuing training of priests.
Since 2023, he has served as vice-rector of the Major Seminary of Notre Dame de Brin and vicar of the parish of the Good Shepherd of Enampore.
