Cardinal Medardo Joseph Mazombwe, Archbishop of the Province’s main Lusaka, Zambia was on Wednesday, August 8, admitted for expert treatment at Morningside Clinic in South Africa.
According to Vatican Radio Mazombwe has made some progress since his admission to hospital in South Africa.
He has been able to hold a brief telephone conversation with Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, secretary general of the Vatican, who wanted to know about his health status.
The archbishop of Lusaka, Telesphore Mpundu, last week told a press conference in Lusaka that Cardinal Mazombwe had been admitted to the Italian Orthopaedic hospital (in Zambia) for close to two weeks, before being flown out to South Africa.
He said six specialist doctors attended to Cardinal Mazombwe and recommended his evacuation to South Africa.
Cardinal Medardo Mazombwe is Zambia’s first and only Cardinal. He was born on 24 September 1931. He was the bishop of Chipata from 1970 to 1996, when he became archbishop of the archdiocese of Lusaka in in November. He retired as ordinary of the See of Lusaka in October 2006 when he reached the nominal 75- year age limit. Pope Benedict XVI elevated Mazombwe to the status of Cardinal in a consistory of November 20, 2010.
The Zambian Church remains united in praying for the 80 year old cardinal.
Source: Vatican Radio
