Pope Leo XIV has appointed Fr Enrico Parry as the new bishop of Keimoes-Upington. He will succeed Bishop Edward Risi, who died on December 4, 2025, at the age of 76. Bishop Risi had headed the diocese since 2000.
Bishop-elect Parry was born on December 28, 1968, and was ordained a priest for the diocese of Oudtshoorn by Bishop Edward Adams on April 17, 1995, in St Saviour’s cathedral.
Fr Parry served in parish ministry from 1995 to 1998. He then moved into seminary work in Pretoria, serving as professor, dean, vice-rector and acting rector of St Peter’s Seminary in Garsfontein, east of Pretoria, where he had been a student. He later held several positions at St John Vianney Seminary in Pretoria.
In 2008, he was appointed rector of St John Vianney Seminary, succeeding Sithembele Sipuka, now archbishop of Cape Town, and he held the position until 2011.
Bishop-elect Parry is the fifth of five full-time rectors of St John Vianney between 1985 and 2011 who have been appointed bishops. The other four are Archbishop William Slattery OFM, (1985-1991), Bishop Graham Rose (1991-1997), the late Bishop Mlungisi Pius Dlungwane, (1997- 2000), and Archbishop Sipuka (2000-2008). Another former rector, Bishop Masilo John Selemela (2019- 2022) is currently auxiliary in Pretoria.
In Oudtshoorn, he held a number of diocesan administrative and pastoral roles, including chancellor, financial administrator, director of catechesis and director of the Pontifical Mission Societies. He has also served as chaplain to correctional services in the Oudtshoorn area, and as chaplain to the South African National Defence Force and police services there.
He is currently director of the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA), which unites the Catholic bishops’ conferences and communities of nine Southern African countries and is based in Harare, Zimbabwe. He was appointed to that position in September 2025, having previously served as coordinator of IMBISA’s Pastoral Department.
Bishop-elect Parry’s articles have appeared periodically in The Southern Cross, the latest, titled “Death will be defeated”, in the November 2026 issue.
- Fr Enrico Parry Appointed Bishop of Keimoes-Upington - November 12, 2026
- Sipuka: Make Synodality a Way of Life - November 12, 2026
- Pope in Argentina: Open your hearts, and with God’s grace, go forth and be holy - November 11, 2026
