Bishop of Manzini
José Luís Gerardo Ponce de León, I.M.C., was born on May 8, 1961, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. He became a South African citizen while retaining his Argentine citizenship. He studied with the Consolata Missionaries in Buenos Aires and Rome, and completed his theology studies at the Jesuit Javeriana University in Bogotá, Colombia. He made his first vows on January 9, 1983, and his solemn profession on December 28, 1985. He was ordained a priest on August 2, 1986. Following his ordination, he held the following positions: 1986–1993: Director of missionary and vocational animation and of a Consolata magazine in Argentina; formator at the philosophy seminary for three years; 1994–1998: Pastoral service in South Africa (Diocese of Dundee), working in the parishes of Damesfontein/Mpuluzi, Piet Retief, and Madadeni; 1999–2004: Superior of the Consolata Missionaries' South African Mission; 2005: Transferred to the parish of Daveytown (Johannesburg); that same year, he was sent to the Consolata General Chapter in Brazil. In 2006, following the General Chapter, he was appointed Secretary General of his Congregation in Rome and Procurator to the Holy See.