Tunisia: After 60 years of waiting, the first baptism ceremony was held in the northern African country of Tunisia. Monsignor Nicholas Lernold, the French-born, was consecrated bishop for the Diocese of Constantine, Algeria. Fifteen bishops, more than 60 clergy and hundreds of believers from neighboring countries, including Algeria and Morocco, attended the funeral ceremony at St. Vincent de Paul’s Cathedral in Tunisia. The most recent baptism took place in Tunisia in 1962. The ceremony takes place at Carthage Cathedral, six years after Tunisia’s independence. In 2004, he accepted the priesthood for the Diocese of Tunis. Nicholas Lernold was promoted to bishopric after sixteen years. Pope Francis has ordered Nicholas Lernold to be bishop of Constantine on December 9, 2019. He was succeeded by Archbishop of Missouri, Paul Desfargus.
That we are united for the fulfillment of God’s plan. The ordained bishop said in a message to the Cathedral Church after the ascension services, that the keys to the divine plan for past, present, and future are in the heart of God. The Catholic Church in Tunisia is now home to very few people who have come to study and work abroad. Ninety-eight percent of the country’s Muslims are Muslims.
