Elias Kwenzakufani Zondi

Elias Kwenzakufani Zondi (born 24 December 1963) is a South African Catholic prelate who was appointed auxiliary bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Durban, in South Africa on 9 March 2023 by Pope Francis. He was contemporaneously assigned as Titular Bishop of Rutabo. Before that, from 16 July 1994 until 9 March 2023, he was a priest of the same Roman Catholic Archdiocese. He was consecrated and installed at Durban on 27 May 2023 by Siegfried Mandla Jwara, Archbishop of Durban.

Background and education Elias Kwenzakufani Zondi was born on 24 December 1963 in Magoebaskloof, Diocese of Tzaneen, Limpopo, South Africa. He studied at the Saint Paul Preparatory Seminary in Hammanskraal, Gauteng. He then studied at the Saint Peter Philosophical Seminary of Garsfontein, Gauteng, where he studied philosophy. From there he transferred to the Saint John Vianney Major Seminary in Pretoria, where he studied theology and earned a bachelor’s degree.

Priest He was ordained a priest for the Catholic Archdiocese of Durban on 16 July 1994. He served as a priest until 9 March 2023. While a priest, he served in various roles and locations, including: