Archbishop of Asmara (Eritrean)
Menghesteab Tesfamariam, M.C.C.J., was born on December 24, 1948, in Berakit, in the Eparchy of Asmara. He entered the novitiate of the Comboni Missionaries on September 1, 1971, and took temporary vows on June 25, 1973. Five years later, on March 15, 1978, he professed perpetual vows. He completed his regular studies and attended the institutional courses in philosophy and theology leading to the priesthood. Ordained a priest on February 18, 1979, he served as a parochial vicar in Namalu, Uganda, from 1979 to 1985. He dedicated himself to the formation of Comboni postulants in Addis Ababa from 1985 to 1990. From July 1 to December 31, 1990, he attended a specialization course at the University of Chicago (USA). Subsequently, from January 1, 1991, to October 31, 1993, he was responsible for the formation of Comboni scholastics in Chicago, and from November 1, 1993, to December 31, 1996, he served as local superior, also in Chicago. On June 25, 2001, he was appointed Bishop of Asmara by John Paul II and received episcopal ordination from his predecessor, Zekarias Yohannes, on September 16, 2001. He has served as the Eparchial Bishop of Asmara from 2001 to the present.