The bishop of Quelimane, Mozambique was shot early Saturday morning in his residence. Bishop Osório Citora Afonso was 54 years old.
Details of the killing are yet to emerge. No arrests have been made, no suspects arrested, and motives remain unknown, according to local reports.
In a message to The Pillar, Archbishop Inácio Saure, president of the Mozambican bishops’ conference, said that he had called an emergency meeting for this evening to discuss the case.
“We still don’t know anything about the motives, we might have more information tomorrow morning,” he said.
Afonso was found lying in the corridor of his residence in the early hours of June 6. He is said to have been shot in the chest, according to local reports.
Mozambique’s President Daniel Chap issued a statement soon after, expressing “deep sorrow and consternation” at the news, and describing the bishop’s death as an “irreparable” loss for Mozambique.
The bishop “distinguished himself throughout his life by his humility, pastoral dedication, and his preaching of the values of peace and reconciliation, “ Chap wrote.
According to initial findings from Mozambican authorities, the bishop was killed with a shot from a modernized Kalashnikov (AK-M) by intruders who scaled the building walls and disabled the security system.
Bishop Osório Afonso was appointed to Quelimane in 2025 by Pope Leo XIV.
He was also appointed this April apostolic administrator of the Archdiocese of Beira, replacing Archbishop Cláudio Zunna, who resigned for health reasons.
The bishop was ordained a priest in 2002, as a member of the Missionaries of the Consolata. He studied in Rome and in Jerusalem before being made auxiliary bishop of Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, in 2024.
"O God, who chose your servant Bishop Osório Citora Afonso from among your priests and endowed him with pontifical dignity in the apostolic priesthood, grant, we pray, that he may also be admitted to their company forever.”