Jesus Tirso Blanco, Bishop of Luena, has died

Father Tirso Blanco, born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, was appointed bishop of Luena on November 26, 2007, according to a statement released at the time by Agência Ecclesia.

As one of the few non-governmental voices in Moxico province with national scope, Tirso Blanco defended in April 2020, in an interview with Jornal de Angola, that illiteracy, poor health, bad roads and poor economic development were enemies of the Angolans and that the improvement of roads and transport should be a priority.

The bishop also denounced at the time, and through social networks, the bad practices associated with the production and exploitation of wood in the region, with the complacency of the traditional authorities, without any benefits for the local population.

On the topic of national reconciliation, Tirso Blanco said that "a country project where the 'other' has space is necessary" and stressed that it was necessary "to have mental and spiritual openness".

The priest was also in favor of implementing the municipalities, "a necessary change because local investments have to be thought of locally" and critical of the limitations of the media, asking for "more courage to report, show and also suggest the ways to solve the problems ".

In 2021, in an interview with radio Ecclesia, a Catholic broadcaster, the bishop defended that peace, won in 2002 with the silence of arms, should be consolidated with concrete actions that promote the social well-being of the populations.

Tirso Blanco studied Philosophy and Theology at the Salesian formation house in Buenos Aires and was licensed in Missiology and Social Communication.

The Argentine priest had been in Angola since his priestly ordination, on September 28, 1985.