Bishop Osório Citora Afonso has been found dead in his residence after a gunshot incident during the early hours of June 6. He was 54. The National Criminal Investigation Service in Mozambique’s Zambézia Province has confirmed that the fourth bishop of the Quelimane Diocese succumbed to gunshot wounds at his official residence. According to spokesperson Maximino Amílcar, an undetermined number of assailants gained entrance to the bishop’s residence and opened fire, striking Afonso in the chest. “The Service has already initiated investigative procedures to clarify the case and identify the perpetrators,” President of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique Archbishop Inácio Saúre reported that Afonso “was found dead under unusual circumstances that are still to be clarified. “At this very troubled moment, I appeal for serenity in faith and fraternal solidarity, in the hope that we will be able, in due course, to provide accurate and detailed information regarding this sad event”.
As a priest he served in various capacities, including parish vicar and bursar of St. Hilaire Parish in Kinshasa Archdiocese, formator and bursar of the Theological Seminary of Kinshasa, and collaborator at the apostolic nunciature in the Democratic Republic of Congo, among other priestly services. In 2017 Afonso was appointed as an official at the Dicastery for Evangelization in the section for the first evangelization and new particular churches. In September 2023 he was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Maputo and was consecrated a bishop by Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle on January 28, 2024. He was appointed the bishop of the Quelimane Diocese in July 2025.
