The first African clergyman to become a Church of Ireland rector has been instituted in Killyleagh parish, Co Down. For the past two years the Rev Jerome Munyangaju has been assistant curate in Bangor Abbey, Co Down.
Mr Munyangaju was born in Rwanda in 1953 and as a child was forced to flee to Tanzania with his parents because of conflict.
He was ordained in Tanzania in 1975 and was rector of two parishes before moving to England in 1993. Two years later he came to Ireland where he was appointed mission resources officer under the auspices of the General Synod of the Church of Ireland.