Bishop Mlungisi Pius Dlungwane

He is the son of Titus Shadrack Sishosonke Dlungwane and Amalia MaZuma Dlungwane,
who are both deceased. He was born at Impendle in a place called Enzinga.

He attended his primary education at Clairvaux Mission School up to 1960.
He then did his Std 5 at Mariathal Mission School in 1961. In 1962, he was
sent to Aloisianum where he spent where he spent two years (1962-1963). After
which he moved to St. Mary's Seminary from 1964-1968. Mlungisi's application for major
seminary studies was accepted by Bishop Alphonse Streit, who at the time decided to
send his seminarians to St. Augustine's Seminary in Lesotho.

He was ordained as a priest by Bishop Martin Schmid on the 4th of July 1976.
As a young priest, he was locum tenens at Assisi Mission for three months and
at Mophela Mission for five months. In April 1977 he was appointed assistant
priest at Mariatrost Mission under Fr. Walter Tauer CMM for a year and three
months. About mid year of 1978 he was transferred to KwaNdengezi, where a new
parish community called St. Kizito was being established. He was also serving
at St. Xavier in Dassenhoek until June 1980, where after he was sent to
St. Francis College as a rector.

However, greater need for personnel arose at St. Mary's Minor Seminary in Ixobho,
Mlungisi was then transferred to the Minor Seminary in 1983 by Bishop Paul Themba Mngoma.
Then, the SACBC requested him to be released to join the formation staff at
St. John Vianney Seminary.

For his further studies in theology he went to the University of Saint Paul
in Ottawa, Canada, where he obtained Masters and Licentiate degrees in theology.
Then, from 1993 up to 1995 he served as a vice-rector and lecturer at St John
Vianney Seminary. In 1996 he returned to the university to complete his doctoral
research in Biblical Theology. In 1997 he was awarded conjointly a Doctorate
in Theology and PhD by the University of St. Paul and the University of Ottawa, respectively.
In 1998, Fr Mlungisi Dlungwane was appointed rector of St. John Vianney National Seminary.
To a lesser extent, he also taught the Synoptic Gospels. In the year 2000, Pope
John Paul II appointed him auxilliary bishop of Mariannhill, to help Bishop
PT Mngoma who was not well. On the 7th of February 2005, Pope John Paul II accepted
Bishop Mngoma's request to retire. At the same time Bishop MP Dlungwane was
appointed administrator of Mariannhill. On the 3rd of June 2006 Pope Benedict
XVI appointed him as the Bishop of Mariannhill.