The Rt Revd Dino Gabriel originally went to South Africa in 1987 as a Roman Catholic Priest. In 1992 he became a member of what was then the Church of the Province of Southern Africa. In 2006 the Church’s name was changed to the Anglican Church of Southern Africa. He has been the bishop of the Diocese of Zululand since 2005. Bishop Gabriel has ministered almost his entire life in South Africa speaking Zulu and is now very proficient in the language. His wife, Elizabeth, is Swazi and together they have four children.
Last week Bishop Gabriel went to Pietermaritzburg, the capitol of the South African Province of KwaZulu-Natal, to represent the Anglican Church as an episcopal election monitor in the neighboring diocese of Natal. There were three nominees for the position. By last Wednesday, 22 JUL, the electing convention had been unable to elect a new bishop and it was decided to accept fresh nominations from the floor. Bishop Gabriel was approached Wednesday evening about being nominated. He spent a restless night Wednesday night, but after receiving prayerful confirmation, he allowed his name to be submitted on Thursday. He was elected bishop.
“It was totally unexpected. When I was elected as the bishop, I said in my speech that it was never my intention to come here to be elected as bishop but I will love you all with the love of the Lord as much as I can,”
The story and photo were reported here.