Archdiocese of Lilongwe

George Desmond Tambala, O.C.D., was born on November 11, 1968, in the Diocese of Zomba. After attending primary school in Ulongwe, he was admitted to the Nankhunda Child Jesus Minor Seminary in Zomba. He joined the Discalced Carmelite community in 1990, completed his novitiate in Enugu, Nigeria, and made his first religious profession in 1991. He pursued a two-year philosophy course at the Inter-Congregational Seminary in Balaka and completed his theological studies at Tangaza College in Nairobi, Kenya. He made his solemn profession on August 15, 1995, at the Carmel in Malawi, and was ordained a priest on April 13, 1996. Following his ordination, he held the following positions: 1996–1998: Parochial Vicar in Kapiri, in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe, Malawi; 1998–2000: Studies in Spain (Avila and Vitoria) for a Licentiate in Theology; 2000–2002: Master of Postulants and lecturer in Spirituality at the Inter-Congregational Seminary in Balaka; 2002–2008: Superior and Provincial Delegate of the Discalced Carmelites in Malawi and Deputy Director of the St. John of the Cross Spirituality Centre in Nyungwe-Blantyre; 2009–2015: Definitor of the Discalced Carmelites, responsible for Africa and Madagascar. Since 2015, he has served as a Definitor of the Discalced Carmelites, responsible for the Navarre-Malawi region. He also served as President of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of Malawi (A.M.R.I.M.).