Site clearance and structural assessment completed
Engineers have finished surveying the damaged workshop, storage areas and administrative block.
Diocese of Kisantu · Democratic Republic of Congo
Rebuilding the Kisantu Diocesan Printing Press
For 101 years the press printed the Bibles, missals, catechisms, textbooks and public records of Kongo-Central. In June 2023, a fire destroyed the building, the equipment, and irreplaceable archives. Together, it can rise from its ashes.
1922
Founded — 101 years of continuous service
1,500
Direct beneficiary institutions & individuals
68
Households employed by the press
500,000+
Indirect beneficiaries across the Diocese
The Reconstruction Project
A 2,500 m² facility rebuilt over 12 months with modern production, administrative, and storage areas.
Read moreImpact & Sustainability
Spiritual, educational, economic, cultural, and social returns for a region without industry.
Read morePartner With Us
Contacts in Kisantu and the United States for donors, partners, and follow-up on the project.
Read moreFrom the site
See the damage for yourself
Film recorded at the Kisantu mission after the June 2023 fire documents what remains of the printing works — the gutted production hall, the destroyed machinery and the community that depended on it.
Watch all the videos in the galleryBishop Kimbeni at the burnt-out press
Bishop Jean Crispin Kimbeni Ki Kanda stands with diocesan staff inside the gutted shell of the printing works, where the roof and floor were destroyed by the June 2023 fire.
Diocesan Communications
News & Announcements
Reconstruction appeal officially launched
The Diocese of Kisantu opens its international appeal for the rebuilding of the printing press.
A message of hope
“A work to be protected — it deserves to rise from its ashes.”
Established in 1922 and printing since the era of the former Vicariate of Kisantu, the press served not only this Diocese but Matadi, Boma, Popo Kabaka, Kikwit and Kinshasa — producing administrative documents, report cards and textbooks for the entire country.
His Excellency Bishop Crispin Kimbeni Ki Kanda has launched the initiative to rebuild and re-equip the press so it may resume its threefold mission: pastoral, educational, and social.
The mission of the Diocese
Four sectors, one pastoral care
Evangelization
Training pastoral agents, establishing parishes, and allocating human resources and equipment for the spread of the Word.
Education
A network of more than 300 primary and secondary schools, plus literacy centers and adult community education.
Human Development
Food security, farmer groups, roads and bridges, warehouses, entrepreneurship, and environmental protection.
Health
Two general referral hospitals and over 40 health centers, including St. Luke's Hospital, renowned for orthopedic care.
Help restore an essential community service
Total reconstruction cost: $5,000,000 USD, to be completed within 12 months of funding.