Fridolin Ambongo Besungu was born on 24 January 1960 in Boto, in the diocese of Molegbe in the northern Democratic Republic of Congo. He studied philosophy at Bwamanda and theology at the Saint Eugène de Mazenod Institute in Kinshasa, made his first vows as a Capuchin Franciscan in 1981 and his perpetual vows in 1987, and was ordained a priest on 14 August 1988. He took a degree in moral theology from the Alphonsian Academy in Rome, served as parish priest in Bobito (1988–1989), and taught moral theology in Kinshasa and Lisala, including at the Mazenod Institute from 1995 to 2005, while also serving as major superior and vice-provincial of his order in Congo.
He was appointed bishop of Bokungu-Ikela on 22 November 2004 and received episcopal ordination on 6 March 2005. He also served as apostolic administrator of Kole, and within the National Episcopal Conference of Congo (CENCO) he chaired the Justice and Peace Commission for eight years and the Commission for Natural Resources. On 5 March 2016 Pope Francis named him apostolic administrator of Mbandaka-Bikoro, and on 12 November 2016 archbishop of that see; he was elected vice-president of CENCO and co-chaired the dialogue that produced the San Silvestro Agreements and elections at the end of 2018. Appointed coadjutor of Kinshasa on 6 February 2018, he succeeded Cardinal Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya as archbishop on 1 November 2018.
Pope Francis created him cardinal in the consistory of 5 October 2019, with the titular church of San Gabriele Arcangelo all'Acqua Traversa. He joined the Council of Cardinals on 15 October 2020 and was renewed in that role on 7 March 2023. In February 2023 he was elected president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM). He participated as a cardinal elector in the 2025 conclave that elected Pope Leo XIV.
Consequential Quotes
We, the African Bishops, do not consider it appropriate for Africa to bless homosexual unions or same-sex couples because, in our context, this would cause confusion and would be in direct contradiction to the cultural ethos of African communities
The position taken by Africa was also the position of so many bishops here in Europe. It’s not just an African exception
The pastoral priority for us is not a problem of gay people, it’s not a problem of homosexuality. For us, the pastoral priority is life: How to live, how to survive
It is an economic war. A war unleashed by an insatiable greed for raw materials and money, which feeds an armed economy that demands instability and corruption
The conflict in Congo must not remain invisible. This is a war that has devastated millions of lives. The time for silence is over. We must imagine peace, but we must also act to bring it about. We cannot afford to look away any longer
Major Works & Initiatives
La réhabilitation de l'humain, base de développement vrai au Zaïre
Doctoral dissertation in moral theology, on integral development ethics; listed in his bibliography (OCLC 312890625).
San Silvestro Agreements mediation
Co-chaired the CENCO dialogue that produced the San Silvestro Agreements, leading to elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo at the end of 2018 (Holy See biography).
Council of Cardinals
Appointed a member of the Council of Cardinals on 15 October 2020 to assist the pope in governing the universal Church; renewed on 7 March 2023.
SECAM synthesis on Fiducia Supplicans
As SECAM president, signed the 11 January 2024 synthesis of the African conferences' responses, stating that the blessings proposed in Fiducia Supplicans could not be carried out in Africa; the statement recorded the agreement of Pope Francis and Cardinal Fernández.
Controversies
Fiducia Supplicans and the African bishops' response (2023–24)
After the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith issued Fiducia Supplicans on 18 December 2023, Ambongo, as SECAM president, gathered the African conferences' responses and signed the 11 January 2024 statement that the proposed extra-liturgical blessings 'cannot be carried out in Africa without exposing themselves to scandals.' SECAM and Ambongo stressed communion with Pope Francis, and ACI Africa reported the synthesis had received the agreement of the pope and of Cardinal Fernández. Critics characterised the move as a refusal to apply a Vatican document in Africa — a characterisation that remains contested — while Ambongo later said the position was not an 'African exception' and in September 2025 described Fiducia Supplicans as 'a bad chapter' in Pope Francis's pontificate (ZENIT/OSV News report, contested).
Judicial investigation ordered in Congo (2024)
On 27 April 2024 the attorney general of Congo's Court of Cassation ordered a judicial investigation into Ambongo, alleging 'seditious remarks' that discouraged soldiers and spread false rumours (contested). CENCO said it was following the situation closely and called for calm; the Kinshasa clergy assembly and the Catholic lay council condemned the enquiry as a 'shameful initiative' and defended his sermons as pastoral teaching based on the Church's social doctrine. Ambongo met President Félix Tshisekedi on 16 May 2024 and said the meeting had clarified 'various points.' No outcome of the investigation is reported in the sources fetched.