Tchidimbo was born in Conakry, French West Africa (now Guinea) and was ordained a priest on October 7, 1951, as a member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (also known as the 'Holy Ghost Fathers').
In November 1970, in the wake of the attempted overthrow of Touré during Operation Green Sea, the regime embarked on a series of purges targeting political and civic leaders suspected of disloyalty.
As part of a deal between the Holy See and the Touré regime, he was freed on August 7, 1979, and flown to Rome.
Subsequently, on August 13, he resigned from his position of Archbishop of Conakry; Robert Sarah was appointed as his successor.
In 1987, he published a book about his captivity entitled Noviciat d'un évêque: huit ans de captivité sous Sékou Touré (Novitiate of a Bishop: Eight Years in Captivity under Sékou Touré; Paris: Fayard).