Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo of Kinshasa (Photo by Stéphane Ouzounoff/Ciric).
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, the latest addition to Pope Francis s privy council of chief advisors, is one of the leading Catholic voices on the African continent.
The 60-year-old Capuchin Franciscan has been head of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) for just over two years. But he s no stranger to Church leadership positions.
A moral theologian with a doctorate from the prestigious Alphonsian Academy in Rome ( Alphonsianum ), he headed his Capuchin Order s vice-province in DRC and was president of the National Assembly of Major Superiors before being named bishop in 2004.