MALAWI: Saint Patrick’s Parish Excited to Host the Auxiliary Bishop of Lilongwe
St. Patrick's Parish in new face
Sam Kalimba
Catholics at St. Patrick’s Parish in the Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe are excited to have an auxiliary bishop reside in their Parish.
Situated 3.8 miles with a 12-minute drive from the Our Lady of Africa – Maula Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Lilongwe, St. Patrick’s Chimutu Parish is, according to a press release of the Archbishop’s Secretary of Lilongwe of December 2023, expected to be the residence of the Auxiliary Bishop Vincent Fredrick Mwakhwawa who is being consecrated on 20 January 2024.
“As a parish, we are very excited about this development. Parishioners have in general received this news with great joy, excitement and humility. We are humbled to have this privilege of playing host to the Auxiliary Bishop. There are many parishes in the Archdiocese and so to have this honour is quite humbling for us,” said Dr. Matthews Mtumbuka, Laity Council Chairperson for the Parish.
He said that they have no fears at all.
“We know that our Parish will now have more attention across the diocese, naturally. We know we will now see more visitors to the parish including those having meetings or audience with the Auxiliary Bishop. And we welcome this responsibility with an open heart because we are one Catholic Church and as a Parish, we serve the local as well as the global church,” he said.
Dr. Mtumbuka said that they have high expectations. He said that they imagine that with the more visitors coming to the Parish, while it places a bigger responsibility on their shoulders, with it comes the chance to widen the parish’s contacts, exposure and networking. He said that if used well, this can be for the good of the Parish and for the greater Glory of the Lord. He said that this gives them even greater joy and hope.
The parish church at St. Patrick has been undergoing a face-lifting from 2022 and coincidentally, the Parish church building is about to be completed and ready for use.
“The Church renovation project has really progressed so well. It is nearly complete. What remains is the construction of the bell tower which is in progress, and then landscaping. Besides that, is the work by the contractor to close out what they call snags, or the small imperfections in the buildings e.g broken window glass, or broken tiles or fading part of paint and so on. This too is in progress. Our current plan is to enter the new (again) church end January and to have it consecrated around April subject to approvals by the authorities. This gives us great joy and a chance to thank God for everything He does for our Parish,” said Mtumbuka.
Mtumbuka thanks their Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Henry Kamganga Zulu and his entire pastoral team for what he termed as great pastoral care they provide to their flock. He also thanked his fellow lay leaders and parishioners for what he called great unity that they enjoy at the parish and the great support and collaboration they give generously.
“These are the ingredients among many that have enabled us to together achieve a lot for the parish and for God. Above all this, that we are able to pray together always and pray for one another as well as offer support to each other is a great gift among us which we need to sustain always,” he said.
The Archbishop of Lilongwe, His Grace George Desmond Tambala guided that the Auxiliary Bishop would be residing at St. Patrick’s Parish and operate from an office in the Archbishop’s residence at Maula Cathedral.
The Auxiliary Bishop, His Lordship Vincent Mwakhwawa is expected to continue his role as the Vicar General of the Archdiocese after his consecration.
Visitors including bishops from the neighbouring Zambia and Mozambique and some some priests who once worked in Malawi or with the Bishop-elect are attending the consecration in person.
ENDS.
