Tanzania: Legion of Mary Celebrates 80 Years of Existence
Rev. Fr. Liberatus Kadio, TEC Acting Secretary Lay Apostolate
Thousands of lay Catholics in Tanzania gathered on 8th September 2018 at Christ the King Parish, Tabata in Dar-es-Salaam, to celebrate 80 year of the Legion of Mary in Tanzania.
Presiding the Eucharistic celebration, Fr. Dr. Liberatus Kadio, who is the Acting Secretary of Lay Apostolate at Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC), said that the Church in Tanzania celebrates 80 years of the Legion of Mary’s foundation in Tanzania, and 97 years worldwide.
“Mary the Mother of God fulfilled her mission which she humbly accepted, and participated in God’s plan of our salvation. As the Laity, you too have to reflect on your mission in the family, Church and society,” he said.
“Some of the obligations of a Legionary are to pray the Rosary, visit the sick and the poor, and to encourage those afflicted. Do you fulfill these responsibilities?” asked Fr. Kadio.
He urged the members of Legion of Mary to pray the Rosary so that the World may be a peaceful place, and where every human being’s dignity is respected.
“The world will change if people change behavior; and they will change behavior if we commit ourselves to a life of prayer. ‘Legio Maria’ in Tanzania has thousands of members, so we need to devote ourselves in prayer and take the Gospel of joy to our neighbors,” Fr. Kadio insisted.
He encouraged the Laity to fulfill their obligations in the Church, arguing that they have a great role in evangelization and in strengthening their faith.
80 years of the group’s existence
Fr Kadio also warned those Catholics who copy other people’s faith while they claim to believe in one, holy catholic Church, saying that mixing Protestantism and Catholicism simply brings confusion among lay people.
The Legion of Mary is an international Marian association in the Catholic Church, introduced to East Africa by an Irish lady, Edel Quinn. She died in Nairobi in 1944 after she had introduced the association to many countries in Africa, including Uganda, Tanzania, Congo, Zaire, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Sudan and Nigeria. The association expanded massively in the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. On December 15, 1994, Pope John Paul II declared Edel Quinn “Venerable” after a miracle was attributed to her intercession, as required by the procession of beatification
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By Sarah Pelaji, Tanzania Episcopal Conference
