MALAWI: Catholic Women Pledge Support Towards Priestly Formation

Just like how Jeremiah was called, God chooses and knows His servant before coming forth from their mother’s womb. He consecrates them for the mission of evangelizing His people to the ends of the World. However, to nurture that call to serve God requires people with deep faith who help the young ones to discern their vocation. Among such people are a mother and father in a family who take a leading role in nurturing their children to answer God’s call to serve Him.

Teaching them who Jesus Christ is becomes the basis of understanding God’s call. As they respond to God’s call and make steps towards serving the Lord, prayers become a precious gift that one can give a seminarian who is in the process of discerning God’s will for him.

Besides prayer life, the seminarians have other needs which call for some resources for them to complete their journey. While acknowledging the hiccups that the Church in Malawi is facing in forming seminarians to priesthood, Catholic Women Organisation (CWO) has pledged support towards the Church in providing for the financial and material needs of seminarians.

At their 42^nd Annual Conference held at DMI University in the Diocese of Mangochi, CWO members in all the eight dioceses in Malawi have committed to support young men in seminaries.

Among the kinds of support that they have pledged, include paying tuition fees for some seminarians, providing foodstuffs such as maize and paying the junior staff’s salaries in the seminaries.

CWO members have also pledged to provide the necessary expertise on having sustainable ways of supporting seminarians.

Commenting on the development, Bishop Chair of Pastoral Commission in Malawi Rt. Rev. Peter Musikuwa who attended the conference has urged the women to live by what they have committed themselves to.

“Nothing is impossible with Him,” said Bishop Musikuwa as he advised them to trust in God.

The Episcopal Conference of Malawi has two major seminaries, namely, St. Anthony Philosophicum at Kachebere in Mchinji district and St. Peter’s which is a theological college in Zomba district.

Apart from these two, there are other formation houses that help in priestly formation such as Kasina Spirituality Centre in Dedza district which is under the Episcopal conference of Malawi, and the Inter-Congregational Institute (ICI) in Balaka which offers philosophical and religious studies too and is owned by the Association of Men Religious in Malawi (AMRIM).

By Luke Bisani, Archdiocese of Blantyre Communications Department