Bishop of Solwezi
Charles Kasonde was born on December 14, 1968, in Kalulushi, in the Diocese of Ndola. After completing his primary and secondary education, he pursued the standard course of ecclesiastical studies, entering first St. Augustine National Philosophical Seminary in Mpima (1991–1994) and subsequently St. Dominic Major Theological Seminary in Lusaka (1994–1998). He was ordained a deacon in 1998 and, in accordance with the practice established in the Diocese of Ndola, served a three-year diaconate (1998–2001). He was ordained a priest on August 4, 2001, and incardinated into the Diocese of Ndola. Following his ordination, he held several positions: 2001–2004: Parish Priest of St. Joseph and, concurrently, Director of the Diocesan Pastoral Office of Ndola; 2004–2006: Director of the Pastoral Office at the Zambia Episcopal Conference in Lusaka; 2006–2008: Studies at the Catholic University in Baltimore (USA) for a Licentiate in Dogmatic Theology and Pastoral Theology; from 2008: Director of the National Pastoral Office at the Zambia Episcopal Conference and Deputy Secretary General of the same Episcopal Conference.