The Catholic Bishop of Yola Diocese, Most Rev. Stephen Dami Mamza, has joined other top African Catholic leaders for a private audience with Pope Leo at the Vatican, marking a significant moment for the Church in Africa and for Nigeria’s Catholic community in particular.
Bishop Mamza currently serves as the 1st Vice President of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM), the continental body that brings together nearly 800 Catholic bishops across Africa and its surrounding islands.
He was part of the SECAM presidency delegation led by its President, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, Archbishop of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, alongside the 2nd Vice President, Most Rev. José Manuel Imbamba, Archbishop of Saurimo, Angola.
The private meeting with Pope Leo focused on the mission of the Church in Africa, peace-building efforts, humanitarian challenges, and the strengthening of pastoral collaboration across the continent.
Born in 1969 and ordained a Catholic priest in 1996, Bishop Mamza was appointed Bishop of Yola Diocese in 2011. His episcopal ministry has been widely defined by courage, compassion, and a strong commitment to interfaith harmony, particularly during the peak of the Boko Haram insurgency in northeastern Nigeria.
Between 2014 and 2019, at a time when violent attacks displaced thousands of families, Bishop Mamza transformed the Yola Catholic Cathedral into a haven of refuge. Under his leadership, more than 5,000 internally displaced persons—Christians and Muslims alike—received food, shelter, and medical assistance, demonstrating a faith-driven response rooted in humanity rather than religious division.
Building on this legacy of service, Bishop Mamza, with the support of a German Catholic relief agency, established the Salama Peace Estate in 2021. The project comprises 86 housing units designed to provide dignified accommodation for homeless internally displaced persons, regardless of religious or ethnic background.
The initiative has been widely praised as a practical model of peace-building and post-conflict recovery in a region long affected by violence.
Bishop Mamza’s audience with Pope Leo not only underscores his growing influence within the African Catholic hierarchy but also highlights international recognition of his pastoral leadership, humanitarian advocacy, and unwavering commitment to peace and coexistence in Nigeria and beyond.