Together with three diocesan deacons, Remi Nyengere will be ordained priest by the Archbishop of Lilongwe, Mgr. Tarsizius Ziyaye, on the 16th August at Maula Cathedral. Mass will start at 9 Clock. The first Mass of Remi will take place on the 17th August at Mponela parish, his parish of origin.
We invite you to pray for Mrs. Ernestina Vega Anaya who passed away today in Tepeji del Rio, in the State of Hidalgo, in Mexico. She was the mother of Erick Balderas Vega our Mexican candidate studying in theology in Merrivale, South Africa.
Our deepest condolences to Erick and his family. 
Dear All,
At the moment Paul Namono is attending the Session for Confrères in their Second Term of Mission, in Kumasi, Ghana.
Over the last few days, when Paul was on his way to the meeting, he sent us very sad news. Paul’s cousin Namono Bienvenu was in Form 4. A month ago he complained of stomach pains but despite all the treatment he received it did not help and he passed away the 4th July and was buried on the 5th. Then yesterday Paul gave us news of the death of Namono Pele, his uncle and younger brother of his father. Pele had lived in Ivory Cost for a long time. Before leaving Lilongwe Paul phoned Pele and he did not mentioned anything about his sickness. Then when Paul was on his way to Kumasi he received a message from his sister that Pele was very sick. Two days later on the 9th July he died.
Please let us remember Paul and his family in our prayers. Maliro nkulirana!
May Bienvenu and Pele rest in peace.
Yours in Christ,
Bill Turnball, M.Afr
Father Helmut Revers, M.Afr in Germany, informs you of the return to the Lord of Brother Gerhard Weffers, M.Afr. He died on the 9th July 2014, in Trier, Germany. He was 90 years old of which 61 of missionary life in Zambia, Luxembourg and in Germany
Gerhard Weffers was born on 23/10/1923 in Rheydt, Diocese of Aachen. He trained as a tailor. After completing his training, he was conscripted into the army. From 1945 until 1949 he was a prisoner of war in Russia. After his release he worked as a tailor in a factory for a short time before entering the postulancy of the White Fathers in Langenfeld on 01/09/1950. He continued there with his novitiate from October 1950 until October 1952. On 26/10/1952 he pronounced his first oath in Marienthal, where he did his scholasticate from November 1952 until November 1954.
After his formation he worked in the German Province before departing for Zambia on 24/02/1957. After language studies he mainly worked as a carpenter. He pronounced his perpetual oath in Kachebere. From September 1963 until June 1964 he absolved a course of architectural drawing and building technician in Germany. Afterwards he lived in Kanyanga until 1977 working in the carpentry and in the workshops there.
In April 1977 Gerard was appointed procurator and guest master in Lusaka. After a short stay in Minga/Chipata and after doing the long retreat in Jerusalem he was appointed bursar in our noviciate in Kasama. In 1989 he moved as bursar to the Regional House of Kasama.In October 1993 Gerard returned to Germany because of his advancing age. He took over as receptionist in Trier, giving other services as well. He died in Trier 9th July 2014.
Fr. Rolf Wigger, Sector Secretary
Two cartoons from The Nation that reflect the reality of Malawi today.
Reinhold Bloching and Jules Roy during mass.
Reinhold Bloching is celebrating his Golden Jubilee of priesthood this year. The community of Ndola organized a special celebration to commemorate it on Tuesday the 8th July in Ndola. A simple but joyful gathering brought about thirty people, mostly Religious Sisters, diocesan priests and Missionaries of Africa. Reinhold has set up a remarkable church at New Kaloko in the outskirt of Ndola. The inside church is decorated with African symbols in line with the local culture. Congratulation for this outstanding achievement.
At this same occasion, the Missionaries of Africa thanked Jules Roy, who celebrated this Jubilee last year, as he is getting ready to leave his beloved Zambia after 51 years. Like an old elephant, Jules said, leaving the heard to move its way alone, so is his feeling today. We wish him a good retirement back home in Canada. The departure of Jules from Lusaka is on the 31st July 2014. Links: Our house in Ndola Great day at New Kaloko Parish, Ndola – Zambia Invitation to the Golden Jubilee of Fr. Reinhold Bloching and farewell of Fr. Jules Roy
“Fumu Yane na Chiuta Wane (My Lord and My God) Jn. 20-28.” This particular sentence of St. Thomas the Apostle in the Gospel according to St. John moved all the Christians of Mzuzu diocese with happiness as they received the new born baby St. Thomas the Apostle Parish.
Two Bishops Rt. Rev. Joseph Mkasa Zuza the chair of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi who hails from Mzuzu Diocese and Rt. Rev. Martin Mtumbuka the Bishop of Karonga were vividly present to launch the new St. Thomas the Apostle Parish. The Sector superior of Malawi sector Fr. Bill Turnbull was present to witness launch and supported the confreres in various ways. Many Christian faithful from different Christian denomination were actively present for the launching liturgical celebration for the feast agape. Various Christian denominations made contribution in cash and kind to support the new parish.
The official Launch of St. Thomas the Apostle Parish was the special event for all the Christians of Mzuzu Diocese that is why there were representatives from various parishes, the mother cathedral parish St. Peter was extremely happy because the new St. Thomas the Apostle parish is her begotten child. All the Christians from St. Peter’s parish came to support us. It is the sign of great UNITY of all the parishes in Mzuzu Diocese.
The City Council of Mzuzu, The Defence Army, Malawi Police and various media (Malawi T.V. and Radio) were present to give the good example of solidarity and unity. We thank God Almighty with sincerity of heart for giving us the great gift of new parish.
SAP Province, Sector of Zambia, is proud to announce the priestly ordination of Deacon Emmanuel Chisanga Mubanga, M.Afr which will take place on the 2nd August 2014 at Sainte Thereza Parish in Minga at 9:00 hours by His Lordship George Cosmas Zumaile Lungu, Bishop of Chipata, Zambia.
Thanksgiving and First Mass will be on Sunday 3rd August at 10:00 hours at Christ the King Parish, Kalichero.
Links: Missionary Oath in Jerusalem
Aujourd’hui, les Missionnaires d’Afrique de l’Ouest vous proposent de visiter de nouvelles pages sur leur site www.mafrwestafrica.net :
Dans la rubrique « Actualités » :
Thanks to the invitation of the Islamic Centre of Zambia, opposite the University of Zambia, I had the privilege of attending the first Regional Conference jointly organized by the Committee on Interreligious Dialogue (Zimbabwe) and the Centre for Interreligious Dialogue, attached to the Iranian Embassy of Harare. The three-day conference which was focused on the theme: “Interfaith Dialogue for Development & Peaceful Co-existence”, took place at Arupe College also known as the Jesuit School of Philosophy and Humanities in Harare from the 23rd to the 26th June, followed by days of cultural and free interaction. The themes proposed dealt with the contribution of religion to global peace, conflict management, development in general, family development and security. In spite of some of the themes being repeatedly presented by two or more speakers, they bore interesting variation in terms of giving a different perspective on the same topic. About 28 speakers – three from Iran, two from Namibia, one from South Africa, two from Zambia (Sheikh Gabriel Brill from Livingstone and myself) and the rest from various institutions of higher learning in Zimbabwe – were foreseen during the three-day conference, resulting in reduced time imparted to each speaker for the presentation. In all, about 120 participants, with an appreciable feminine presence, were present during the opening ceremony which was presided over by the Iranian Ambassador to Zimbabwe. Each series of speeches was followed by a moment of question and answers. The participants had also opportunities to interact cordially during tea-breaks and during lunch time. The conference period was graced by such personalities the Minister of State and of Religion, who presided over the closing ceremony in the presence of the Malawian Ambassador to Zimbabwe. The Ambassador to Indonesia not only showed up but also made his own contribution to the conference, presenting the situation of interreligious dialogue in his country. The enthusiasm was high among the participants and it was adopted in the final resolutions that such regional conferences be held on a bi-annual basis in different countries of Africa, alternating with the international conference organized every two years in Tehran. The material presented during the conference will be compiled into a book and made available to a wider public at a later stage.
On my return to Zambia, Dr Hosseini of the Islamic Centre of Zambia expressed the desire and affirmed his readiness to partner with interested local organizations to organize a similar Interreligious Conference but on a National level any time soon and I think this would be an opportunity not to be missed.
Felix J. Phiri
Tangaza University College, Nairobi
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