Bishop Christian Carlassare has arrived in Juba ahead of his installation as the head of the Catholic Diocese of Bentiu.
Pope Francis established the Diocese of Bentiu in Unity State, South Sudan, on July 3, 2024 and appointed Bishop Carlassare. Prior to his appointment, Carlassare served as the Bishop Rumbek Diocese.
Bishop Carlassare said at the Juba International Airport on arrival from Rumbek on Tuesday that he was happy to serve the people of Bentiu.
“I think this is the dream and the vision that we have for South Sudan, crossing the borders, not closing ourselves without the borders. We can really be together and so I come with this great wish from God with great joy. We will travel to Bentiu soon,” Bishop Carlassare said.
He said the church would stand with the people of Bentiu amid the floods and the economic crisis.
“It is a challenging time. It is, isn’t it? The flood. I’m seeing pictures, people really digging and making dykes to protect their land from the flood. But this is one of the challenges. The economic hardship. Maybe also sometimes a bit of uncertainty that does not really help us to plan for the future. When things are easy, people go their own way. The church was very strong in our places at the time of the struggle,” he said.
A member of Organizing Committee and the Minister for Roads and Bridges, Simon Mijok Mijak, said the diocese is a new era for the people of Unity State.
“We are really delighted to come and receive our new bishop. And this is the fruit of the visit of His Holiness to South Sudan. He advised us to keep the peace of the Lord, and the people of South Sudan will enjoy as they have been living together,” Mijak said.
He added: “The new diocese is a new era for the people of Western Upper Nile, Greater Unity, and Bantiu, your young church for which we are going to celebrate the centenary next year. These are the blessings of the Lord on our people of South Sudan and the people of Greater Unity.”
Pope Francis created the Diocese of Bentiu from the Diocese of Malakal, making it a suffragan (ecclesiastical province) of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of Juba.
Bishop Carlassare, who has been at the helm of Rumbek Diocese since his Episcopal Ordination in March 2022, was born in Vicenza in Italy in October 1977.
He was ordained a priest of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus in September 2004.
In 2005, he was sent on a mission to South Sudan where he held various positions, including being the Director of the Orientation Course for the Comboni Missionaries.