HARARE – Retired Catholic Bishop Angelo Floro Martinez has died aged 83.
The former head of the Catholic Diocese of Gokwe was rushed to Gweru General Hospital with breathing difficulties early Tuesday but passed away just before 6PM.
The apostolic administrator for Gokwe Diocese Bishop Rudolph Nyandoro said: “Bishop Floro has not been well for some time. He has been suffering from a heart problem. We realised that he was having breathing challenges in the early hours of Tuesday, March 14, and doctors were called in to assist, and they transferred him to Gweru for further medical examinations. It is in Gweru that he died at 5.50PM. We are really saddened by the loss.”
The burial of the late bishop will be held at 9AM on Saturday, March 18, at Uganda Martyrs Mission in Gokwe centre, starting at 5PM.
Bishop Floro was the head of the Catholic Diocese of Gokwe from 2000 up to 2017 when he retired from active ministry but remained in the diocese.
He was born on February 24, 1940, in Spain. On June 28, 1965, he was ordained a priest of the Instituto Espanol de San Francisco Javier para Misiones Extranjeras.
Father Floro was appointed as Bishop of Gokwe on October 15, 1999, and was consecrated to episcopacy on February 19, 2000. Bishop Floro retired on January 28, 2017, and handed the reigns of the Diocese to Bishop Rudolph Nyandoro.
His cordial relationships with government and religious leaders saw him acquire many formerly council and government schools, which he transformed into mission schools.
Bishop Floro held different positions within the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference, where he was once president and headed the ZCBC Education Commission for many years as its chairman.
He developed the education system in Catholic schools during his tenure as chairman of the Commission, a feat he also achieved in his Diocese of Gokwe.
