Joseph Malula
Encyclopedia
Joseph Albert Malula was a Congolese
Cardinal
of the Roman Catholic Church
. He served as Archbishop of Kinshasa from 1964 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate
in 1969.
, Belgian Congo
(modern Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
), to Remacle Ngalula and Jeanne Bolumbu. He attended primary school in Lépoldoville, under the direction of Fr. Raphaël de la Kétuhulle, more commonly known as Tata Raphaël. From 1931 to 1934, he attended the minor seminary
in Mbata Kiela, where he met Joseph Kasa-Vubu
, who would later become the first president of the Democratic Republic of Congo
, and then the minor seminary of Bolongo in Lisala until 1937. Malula studied philosophy
(1937-1940) and theology
(1940-1944) at the Major Seminary
of Christ-Roi in Kabwe
. He served as a professor
at the Minor Seminary of Bokoro
from 1944 to 1946 as well. Malula was ordained
to the priesthood
by Bishop Georges Six, CICM, on June 9, 1946, in the Stade Reine Astrid. He then resumed teaching at the minor seminary, and served as vicar
and pastor
at several parishes
in Léopoldville. In 1953, he visited Algiers
, Tunisia
, Malta
, Rome
, and Belgium
.
On July 18, 1959, Malula was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
of Léopoldville and Titular Bishop
of Attanasus by Pope John XXIII
. He received his episcopal consecration
on the following September 20 from Archbishop Félix Scalais, CICM, with Bishops Pierre Kimbondo and Joseph Nkongolo serving as co-consecrators
, at the Stade Tata Raphaël
. Malula attended the Second Vatican Council
from 1962 to 1965, during which he was advanced to the Archbishop of Léopoldville on July 7, 1964. He was installed as Archbishop on August 27 of that same year, and the name of the archdiocese
was later changed to Kinshasa on May 30, 1966.
Pope Paul VI
created him Cardinal Priest
of Ss. Protomartiri a Via Aurelia Antica in the consistory
of April 28, 1969. Malula was the first cardinal
from Zaire
. At a Mass
in 1970, at which President Mobutu
was present, the Cardinal claimed that Zaire's ruling class was enriching itself and ignoring the people's misery. In 1971, despite being an advocate of Africa
n culture
, he also expressed his disapproval of Christians giving up their baptism
al names in an article in the Catholic weekly magazine, Afrique Chrétienneafter, following the renaming of the Republic of the Congo as the Zaire Republic. President Mobutu subsequently removed the Cardinal from his government
-owned residence and suspended the magazine for six months.
Malula was one of the cardinal electors
who participated in the conclaves
of August and October 1978, which selected Popes John Paul I
and John Paul II
respectively. He supported Albino Cardinal Luciani
at the August conclave, and even gave him a public embrace before he was elected. Before the October conclave began, he spoke of the Vatican
's pomp, saying, "All that imperial
paraphernalia. All that isolation of the Pope
. All that medieval remoteness and inheritance that makes Europe
ans think that the Church is only Western. All that tightness that makes them fail to understand that young countries like mine want something different. They want simplicity. They want Jesus Christ
. All that, all that must change".
Cardinal Malula died at a Leuven
hospital
in Belgium, at the age of 71. He is buried in Notre Dame du Congo Cathedral in Kinshasa
.
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
Cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of the Roman Catholic Church
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
. He served as Archbishop of Kinshasa from 1964 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
in 1969.
Biography
Joseph Malula was born in LéopoldvilleKinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
, Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
(modern Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
), to Remacle Ngalula and Jeanne Bolumbu. He attended primary school in Lépoldoville, under the direction of Fr. Raphaël de la Kétuhulle, more commonly known as Tata Raphaël. From 1931 to 1934, he attended the minor seminary
Minor seminary
A minor seminary is a secondary boarding school created for the specific purpose of enrolling teenage boys who have expressed interest in becoming priests. They are generally Roman Catholic institutions, and designed to prepare boys both academically and spiritually for vocations to the priesthood...
in Mbata Kiela, where he met Joseph Kasa-Vubu
Joseph Kasa-Vubu
Joseph Kasa-Vubu was the first President of the Republic of the Congo, today called Democratic Republic of the Congo....
, who would later become the first president of the Democratic Republic of Congo
President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo , is Congo's elected Head of State, and the ex officio "Supreme Commander" of the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ....
, and then the minor seminary of Bolongo in Lisala until 1937. Malula studied philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
(1937-1940) and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
(1940-1944) at the Major Seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
of Christ-Roi in Kabwe
Kabwe
Kabwe is the capital of the Zambian Central Province with a population estimated at 210,000. Formerly named Broken Hill, it was founded when the Broken Hill lead and zinc deposits were discovered in 1902. Kabwe also has a claim to being the birthplace of Zambian politics...
. He served as a professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
at the Minor Seminary of Bokoro
Bokoro
Bokoro is a town in Chad. It is located at around . The town is served by Bokoro Airport.-Demographics:...
from 1944 to 1946 as well. Malula was ordained
Holy Orders
The term Holy Orders is used by many Christian churches to refer to ordination or to those individuals ordained for a special role or ministry....
to the priesthood
Priesthood (Catholic Church)
The ministerial orders of the Catholic Church include the orders of bishops, deacons and presbyters, which in Latin is sacerdos. The ordained priesthood and common priesthood are different in function and essence....
by Bishop Georges Six, CICM, on June 9, 1946, in the Stade Reine Astrid. He then resumed teaching at the minor seminary, and served as vicar
Vicar
In the broadest sense, a vicar is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior . In this sense, the title is comparable to lieutenant...
and pastor
Curate
A curate is a person who is invested with the care or cure of souls of a parish. In this sense "curate" correctly means a parish priest but in English-speaking countries a curate is an assistant to the parish priest...
at several parishes
Parish (Catholic Church)
In the Roman Catholic Church, a parish is the lowest ecclesiastical geographical subdivision: from ecclesiastical province to diocese to deanery to parish.-Requirements:A parish needs two things under common law to become a parish...
in Léopoldville. In 1953, he visited Algiers
Algiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
, Tunisia
Tunisia
Tunisia , officially the Tunisian RepublicThe long name of Tunisia in other languages used in the country is: , is the northernmost country in Africa. It is a Maghreb country and is bordered by Algeria to the west, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Its area...
, Malta
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
.
On July 18, 1959, Malula was appointed Auxiliary Bishop
Auxiliary bishop
An auxiliary bishop, in the Roman Catholic Church, is an additional bishop assigned to a diocese because the diocesan bishop is unable to perform his functions, the diocese is so extensive that it requires more than one bishop to administer, or the diocese is attached to a royal or imperial office...
of Léopoldville and Titular Bishop
Titular bishop
A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese.By definition a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop the tradition of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches is that he be ordained for a specific place...
of Attanasus by Pope John XXIII
Pope John XXIII
-Papal election:Following the death of Pope Pius XII in 1958, Roncalli was elected Pope, to his great surprise. He had even arrived in the Vatican with a return train ticket to Venice. Many had considered Giovanni Battista Montini, Archbishop of Milan, a possible candidate, but, although archbishop...
. He received his episcopal consecration
Bishop (Catholic Church)
In the Catholic Church, a bishop is an ordained minister who holds the fullness of the sacrament of Holy Orders and is responsible for teaching the Catholic faith and ruling the Church....
on the following September 20 from Archbishop Félix Scalais, CICM, with Bishops Pierre Kimbondo and Joseph Nkongolo serving as co-consecrators
Consecrator
Consecrator is a term used in the Roman Catholic Church to designate a bishop who ordains a priest to the episcopal state. The term is often used in Eastern Rite Churches and in Anglican communities. The term "Principal Consecrator" is used to designate the primary bishop who ordains a new bishop...
, at the Stade Tata Raphaël
Stade Tata Raphaël
Stade Tata Raphaël is a multi-purpose stadium in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Originally known as Stade Roi Baudouin when it was inaugurated in 1952 and Stade du 20 Mai in 1967, it was used mostly for football matches...
. Malula attended the Second Vatican Council
Second Vatican Council
The Second Vatican Council addressed relations between the Roman Catholic Church and the modern world. It was the twenty-first Ecumenical Council of the Catholic Church and the second to be held at St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. It opened under Pope John XXIII on 11 October 1962 and closed...
from 1962 to 1965, during which he was advanced to the Archbishop of Léopoldville on July 7, 1964. He was installed as Archbishop on August 27 of that same year, and the name of the archdiocese
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
was later changed to Kinshasa on May 30, 1966.
Pope Paul VI
Pope Paul VI
Paul VI , born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding Pope John XXIII, who had convened the Second Vatican Council, he decided to continue it...
created him Cardinal Priest
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
of Ss. Protomartiri a Via Aurelia Antica in the consistory
Consistory
-Antiquity:Originally, the Latin word consistorium meant simply 'sitting together', just as the Greek synedrion ....
of April 28, 1969. Malula was the first cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
from Zaire
Zaire
The Republic of Zaire was the name of the present Democratic Republic of the Congo between 27 October 1971 and 17 May 1997. The name of Zaire derives from the , itself an adaptation of the Kongo word nzere or nzadi, or "the river that swallows all rivers".-Self-proclaimed Father of the Nation:In...
. At a Mass
Mass (liturgy)
"Mass" is one of the names by which the sacrament of the Eucharist is called in the Roman Catholic Church: others are "Eucharist", the "Lord's Supper", the "Breaking of Bread", the "Eucharistic assembly ", the "memorial of the Lord's Passion and Resurrection", the "Holy Sacrifice", the "Holy and...
in 1970, at which President Mobutu
Mobutu Sese Seko
Mobutu Sese Seko Nkuku Ngbendu wa Za Banga , commonly known as Mobutu or Mobutu Sese Seko , born Joseph-Désiré Mobutu, was the President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 1965 to 1997...
was present, the Cardinal claimed that Zaire's ruling class was enriching itself and ignoring the people's misery. In 1971, despite being an advocate of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n culture
Culture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
, he also expressed his disapproval of Christians giving up their baptism
Baptism
In Christianity, baptism is for the majority the rite of admission , almost invariably with the use of water, into the Christian Church generally and also membership of a particular church tradition...
al names in an article in the Catholic weekly magazine, Afrique Chrétienneafter, following the renaming of the Republic of the Congo as the Zaire Republic. President Mobutu subsequently removed the Cardinal from his government
Politics of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Politics of the Democratic Republic of Congo take place in a framework of a republic in transition from a civil war to a semi-presidential democratic republic....
-owned residence and suspended the magazine for six months.
Malula was one of the cardinal electors
Cardinal electors in Papal conclaves, August and October 1978
The following were the cardinal electors in the papal conclaves of August and October 1978. Arranged by region , and within each alphabetically .Because there was such a brief period between the two conclaves, the lists of electors...
who participated in the conclaves
Papal conclave
A papal conclave is a meeting of the College of Cardinals convened to elect a Bishop of Rome, who then becomes the Pope during a period of vacancy in the papal office. The Pope is considered by Roman Catholics to be the apostolic successor of Saint Peter and earthly head of the Roman Catholic Church...
of August and October 1978, which selected Popes John Paul I
Pope John Paul I
John Paul I , born Albino Luciani, , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes...
and John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
respectively. He supported Albino Cardinal Luciani
Pope John Paul I
John Paul I , born Albino Luciani, , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and as Sovereign of Vatican City from 26 August 1978 until his death 33 days later. His reign is among the shortest in papal history, resulting in the most recent Year of Three Popes...
at the August conclave, and even gave him a public embrace before he was elected. Before the October conclave began, he spoke of the Vatican
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
's pomp, saying, "All that imperial
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
paraphernalia. All that isolation of the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
. All that medieval remoteness and inheritance that makes Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
ans think that the Church is only Western. All that tightness that makes them fail to understand that young countries like mine want something different. They want simplicity. They want Jesus Christ
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. All that, all that must change".
Cardinal Malula died at a Leuven
Leuven
Leuven is the capital of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region, Belgium...
hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
in Belgium, at the age of 71. He is buried in Notre Dame du Congo Cathedral in Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
.