DAR ES SALAAM, Feb. 21 -- POLYCARP Cardinal Pengo, who died on February 19, 2026 at the age of 81, was one of the most influential Catholic leaders in Tanzanias modern history, serving for nearly three decades as Archbishop of Dar es Salaam and representing the country at the highest levels of the global Church.

His death was announced by Dar es Salaam Archbishop Jude Thaddaeus Ruwaichi, who said Cardinal Pengo passed away at 10:00 p.m. while receiving treatment at the Jakaya Kikwete Cardiac Institute (JKCI) in Dar es Salaam.

Born on August 5, 1944, at Mwazye, Mbinga District in southern Tanzania, Pengo pursued priestly formation at a time when the Catholic Church in Tanzania was expanding rapidly in both membership and institutional pr...