The Most Famous
RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Tanzania
This page contains a list of the greatest Tanzanian Religious Figures. The pantheon dataset contains 3,187 Religious Figures, 2 of which were born in Tanzania. This makes Tanzania the birth place of the 93rd most number of Religious Figures behind Luxembourg, and Cuba.
Top 3
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary Tanzanian Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Tanzanian Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.
1. Laurean Rugambwa (1912 - 1997)
With an HPI of 54.78, Laurean Rugambwa is the most famous Tanzanian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 19 different languages on wikipedia.
Laurean Rugambwa (July 12, 1912 – December 8, 1997) was a Tanzanian prelate who was the first modern native African cardinal of the Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Dar es Salaam from 1968 to 1992, and was made a cardinal in 1960 by Pope John XXIII.
2. Polycarp Pengo (b. 1944)
With an HPI of 50.89, Polycarp Pengo is the 2nd most famous Tanzanian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.
Polycarp Pengo (born 5 August 1944) is a Tanzanian prelate of the Catholic Church who was Archbishop of Dar-es-Salaam, from 1992 to 2019. A bishop since 1983, he was made a cardinal in 1998.
3. Protase Rugambwa (b. 1960)
With an HPI of 46.16, Protase Rugambwa is the 3rd most famous Tanzanian Religious Figure. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Protase Rugambwa (born 31 May 1960) is a Tanzanian prelate of the Catholic Church who has been metropolitan archbishop of the Archdiocese of Tabora since November 2023, after serving as coadjutor there for seven months. He was a secretary of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples from November 2017 to April 2023. He previously served as that congregation's adjunct secretary and president of the Pontifical Mission Societies from 2012 to 2017. Pope Francis made him a cardinal on 30 September 2023.
People
Pantheon has 3 people classified as Tanzanian religious figures born between 1912 and 1960. Of these 3, 2 (66.67%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Tanzanian religious figures include Polycarp Pengo, and Protase Rugambwa. The most famous deceased Tanzanian religious figures include Laurean Rugambwa. As of April 2024, 1 new Tanzanian religious figures have been added to Pantheon including Protase Rugambwa.
