MALAWI: AMECEA Delegates Visit Parish Communities in Lilongwe Archdiocese

On Sunday, 20th July 2014, the AMECEA
delegates took a break from their study sessions and paid pastoral solidarity
visits to various parish communities in the Archdiocese of Lilongwe.

The delegates who were grouped according to
their Episcopal conferences and the organisations they represent had the
opportunity to celebrate Holy Mass and interact with the host Christians at
various Parishes within the city of Lilongwe. They were accompanied by the
delegates from Malawi Episcopal Conference.

The groupings of the solidarity visits were as
follows: Eritrea: St. John’s Parish (Msamba); Ethiopia: St. Don Bosco Parish (Area
23); Kenya: St. Kizito Parish (Chigoneka); Sudan and South Sudan: Holy Trinity
Parish (Kawale); Tanzania: St. Francis Parish (Kanengo); Uganda: Our Lady of
Africa Cathedral (Maula); Zambia: Sacred Heart Parish (Mtima Woyera); and Other
delegates: St. Patrick’s Parish (Chimutu).

At St.
Francis Parish (Kanengo), the  25 Tanzanian delegates comprising of 21
Bishops, 2 Priests and 2 Lay faithful were warmly received by thousands of
Christians. The Sunday liturgy which was animated with traditional Malawian
hymns and dances was presided over by Rt. Rev Tarcisius Ngalalekumtwa, Bishop
of Iringa and President of Tanzania Episcopal Conference.

In his homily, the Archbishop of Arusha, Most
Rev. Josephat Lebulu said that the Risen Christ through the Holy Spirit is
working with the AMECEA Church all the time and that is why the inspiration
made by the AMECEA Church in instituting the Small Christian Communities is
desired by Churches in other parts of the world as an effective strategy for Evangelisation.

After the Mass, the delegates exchanged gifts
with their hosts and visited the Social Concern Project run by the White
Fathers, and closed the day with lunch prepared by the parishioners in their
honour.

At Our
Lady of Africa Cathedral (Maula); the Ugandan
delegation of 14 Bishops, 5 Priests and 6 lay people were hosted at the Parish.
The 25 delegates who were in two groups celebrated Mass at the Cathedral presided
over by Most Rev. John Baptist Odama, and at the community of the Poor Clares
Sisters presided over by Most Rev. Emmanuel Obbo, the Vice-Chairman of AMECEA.

In his homily, Archbishop Odama, the Chairman of
Uganda Episcopal Conference emphasized the fact that AMECEA was established
with the purpose of ensuring that the Catholic Church in Eastern Africa grows
together in unity and strength. “Eastern Africa can easily become pagan if we
do not work together”, he stated.

The delegates were hosted to a luncheon, during
which they exchanged gifts with their hosts. This was followed by a tour of the
residence of the Archbishop of Lilongwe and Radio Alinafe, owned by the Archdiocese.

At Holy Trinity Parish (Kawale); the
delegates from Sudan and South Sudan
visited the Parish and Mass was presided over by Rt. Rev. Santo Loku Pio, the
Auxiliary Bishop of Juba, South Sudan. After the Mass the team visited an
Orphanage run by the Sisters of Charity, and a Maize production and grinding
mill operated by Holy Trinity Parish community. They were later entertained
with cultural Malawian songs and dances and a luncheon.

At St. Don
Bosco Parish (Area 23); thousands of St. Don Bosco parishioners gave a colourful
welcome to Ethiopian delegation
accompanied by singing, cultural dances and a lunch reception.

Archbishop Berhaneyesus Souraphiel
CM, Metropolitan Bishop of the Archdiocese of Addis Ababa and the
President of the Conference said Ethiopia is impressed by the warm heart of the
people of Malawi.

The Archbishop also said that the Church in
AMECEA must work hard to teach the youth of Africa to love their country as at
the moment, Africa is losing many of her young people trying to migrate to
other continents.

“As Christians, we must love one another and
show God’s Mercy to each other,” he added.

He also asked the St. Don Bosco parishioners to
pray for the AMECEA member countries especially South Sudan.

The Ethiopia delegation was accompanied by
Bishop Peter Musikuwa of Chikwawa Diocese, Malawi.

At St. John’s Parish (Msamba); Eritrean delegation, which comprised of
two Religious Sisters and a lay person were led by Fr. Tesfaghiorgis Kiflom,
Secretary General to the Eritrean Bishops were accompanied by the two bishops
from Ethiopia (Bishop Markos Gebremedhin and Bishop Giovanni Miglioratti) and Bishop
Giorgio Bertini of Djibouti and Apostolic Administrator of
Somalia.

During the event Bishop Bertini and Fr
Tesfaghiorgis Kiflom of the Eritrean delegation shared the experiences of their
local Churches.

The parishioners prepared cultural shows and meals
for the visitors after the celebration of the Holy Mass. The delegation was
accompanied by Bishop Montfort Stima of Mangohi Diocese

At Sacred
Heart Parish (Mtima Woyera); Zambian
Catholic Bishops and other Zambian delegates were given a warm welcome by the parishioners

The main celebrant was Archbishop Telesphore
George Mpundu.  In his homily, the Auxiliary
Bishop of Chipata Rt. Rev. Dr. Benjamin Phiri, asked the people present to
re-examine their Christian faith by not living double standards.  Basing his homily on the readings of the day,
he said that people live side by side with the devil and that at the end of their
lives God will separate the holy ones from the evil ones.

Mtima Woyera Parish was started in 1906 by the Missionaries
of Africa and a massive structure of the new church building is being erected.
The parish has close to 11,000 Christians and according to the Parish Priest,
Fr. Zikoma Nkani, about three quarters of them attend Mass every Sunday.

At St.
Kizito Parish (Chigoneka) Kenyan
delegation, accompanied by His Eminence John Cardinal Njue arrived at the
Parish.

Addressing the parishioners cardinal Njue warned
them against the rise of passive Christianity where those attending Holy Mass
on Sunday were either not receiving the Eucharist or were engaging in other
unchristian  activities during the week.

 “The
Church in Africa  is faced by the
challenge of passive Christianity where people choose which sacraments to
follow and which to ignore….why is it that almost half of the people coming to
our churches do not receive Holy Communion? ” he said after leading the
delegation of 12 bishops and other delegates from Kenya .

He challenged the ongoing plenary to strengthen
Evangelization so that Christians in the AMECEA countries may live Christian
values in their daily lives.