We are the Friars Minor—Franciscans of the Province of Saint Anthony of Padua in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Our Province was established following the second restructuring of the Province of Saint Benedict the African, which has its Provincial Curia in Lubumbashi, in the southeastern part of the DRC.

Canonically erected on July 30, 2025, in Lubumbashi by Decree of Erection 11440-SG 2025/132 of the Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, Brother Massimo FUSARELLI, the jurisdiction of the Province of Saint Anthony of Padua extends across the administrative provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, and the Eastern Province (Upper Uele, Lower Uele, Ituri, and Tshopo). Our Provincial Curia is located in Goma, the capital of North Kivu Province, which is also a city of suffering where most of the rebellions that cast a shadow of grief over the entire eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo originate.