On the 11th of February 2023, Pope Francis appointed a new Bishop of the Makeni Diocese. The pronouncement was made by the Apostolic Nuncio of Sierra Leone and Liberia Archbishop Walter Erbi.
The pronouncement was made in the Makeni Pastoral Centre Hall. Before the pronouncement, many priests, Religious Sisters, and parishioners attended the ceremony. They all accepted the pronouncement of the new Bishop-elect.
Parishioner Gerald Alex Sesay said they are willing and ready to accept the new Bishop. This is the first time a local priest was pronounced Bishop of the Diocese in over 60 years of the Diocese’s existence.
Arch Bishop of Freetown Edward Tamba Charles praised the commitment of the parishioners to witness the historic pronouncement. He described the Bishop-elect as a man of religious values, humility, and a hard-working priest.
Bishop Natalio Panganelli is the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Makeni for the past 12 years. “Today is my happiest day,” he said. He concluded that the church is one and universal.
The newly elected Bishop Reverend Bob John Hassan Koroma accepted the pronouncement and called on priests, religious, and parishioners of the Diocese to work together.
Before his appointment, Rev, Fr. Bob John Hassan Koroma was Vica General of Makeni Diocese and Administrator of the Our Lady of Fatima Cathedral. He was ordained a priest for the Makeni Diocese on 25th April 1999. He holds a Doctorate in Biblical Theology from the Pontifical Urban University of Rome. He was Dean of studies at the St. Paul Major Seminary in Freetown from 2008 to 2014. He also served as Parish Priest of Immaculate Conception Parish in Magburaka Town, North Eastern Sierra Leone.