Retired Bishop Paride Taban has died in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi at the age 87, the Catholic Church in Sudan and South Sudan has announced Wednesday.

In a statement seen by Radio Tamazuj, the Catholic Bishops and the Church of South Sudan confirmed that Bishop Paride Taban of the Catholic Church died this afternoon in Nairobi Kenya.

“He has been unwell for sometime and the Good Shepard called him on the solemnity of All the Saints. The news is sudden and you will be updated with upcoming arrangements,” the statement read in part.

Background and achievements

Born in 1936 in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State, Bishop Paride, started his Episcopal Ministry in May 1980 as Auxiliary Bishop of Juba Archdiocese. He was the first Bishop of Torit and the co-founder and first leader of the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC).

The SSCC he co-founded spearheaded numerous ecumenical initiatives including development work, humanitarian relief, training of grass-roots leaders and peace mediation.

Bishop Paride also founded Holy Trinity Peace Village Kuron. Kuron is a beacon of peace within the conflict-ridden country of South Sudan. He had dedicated his whole life to the promotion of dialogue and development in South Sudan, as well as across the border in Uganda and Kenya.

In 2013 he received the UN Sergio Vieira de Mello-peace prize for his exceptional commitment to reconciling different communities in South Sudan. He had been closely involved in the peace agreement between the government of South Sudan and the David Yau Yau-rebel group signed in May 2014.

On May 16th 2018 Bishop Paride Taban received the Freedom of Worship Award, one of the Roosevelt Four Freedoms Awards. The Four Freedoms Awards are presented each year to men and women whose achievements have demonstrated a commitment to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.