Gabriel Zubeir Wako was born in Mboro, Sudan, on 27 February 1941. Ordained a priest on 21 July 1963 at twenty-two, with a licentiate in theology, he served as assistant parish priest, schools inspector, rector of St Anthony's minor seminary in Bussere, and procurator of the Wau vicariate. On 12 December 1974 he was appointed Bishop of Wau, consecrated on 6 April 1975.
He became coadjutor bishop of Khartoum in October 1979 and Archbishop of Khartoum on 10 October 1981, serving for thirty-five years through Sudan's civil wars. He presided over the Sudanese bishops' conference for three long terms, prioritized children orphaned by war, and wrote pastoral letters urging peace and Christian renewal. On 10 October 2010, while celebrating Sunday Mass, he escaped an assassination attempt by a Messiria tribesman. John Paul II created him a cardinal on 21 October 2003, with the title of Sant'Atanasio a Via Tiburtina — the first Sudanese cardinal; he voted in the conclaves of 2005 and 2013. He retired on 10 December 2016, succeeded by Michael Didi Adgum Mangoria.
Major Works & Initiatives
Archbishop of Khartoum
Thirty-five years leading the Church through Sudan's wars.
President of Sudan's bishops
Three terms at the head of the national conference.
The assassination attempt
Survived an attack during Sunday Mass.
Controversies
On the record
No significant public controversies reported.