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Father Hlakanipha Mbongolwane
This year the Roman Catholic Church in Matabeleland celebrates 140 years since the first Catholic priests and religious leaders were allowed to operate in Matabeleland by King Lobengula Khumalo.
In 1879, Jesuits came up from South Africa and arrived at King Lobengula Khumalo’s court in Bulawayo. The king allowed them to establish a mission.
The mission was, however, burnt down when the king burnt down the town and left after the defeat of his army by British colonialists. When King Lobengula Khumalo moved to the current site of the State House in Bulawayo, Fr Prestige moved the mission to Empandeni, the first Catholic mission in Zimbabwe which is still in existence and run by diocesan clergy. The Jesuits later built St Mary’s Cathedral in 1903 which was declared a Basilica in 2013 by Pope Francis at the initiation of the present Archbishop, Archbishop Alex Thomas.
The Catholic Church in Matabeleland is responsible for the birth of both health and education systems. These systems stand as pillars in our modern day society, and continue to lead with excellence wherever the church is involved.
The very essence of health care and caring for the sick emerged through the church in direct response to the value and dignity that the gospel assigns to each and every human life. Moreover, the Roman Catholic Church in Matabeleland has a non-profit hospital system comprising several hospitals and dozens of clinics.
The contribution of the church in Matabeleland is enormous especially in the field of education. Students educated at Catholic schools go on to occupy many of the highest positions in any field. Beyond health care and education, the Catholic Church’s contribution towards human development through Catholic organisations like Caritas is nothing short of remarkable.
Caritas has rolled out life changing programmes in Lupane, Bulilima, Mangwe, Hwange and Matobo districts for many years. The Catholic Church is found in every corner of Matabeleland. As an institution it is one of the largest land owners holding property in almost every community, from the remote locations to the most affluent suburbs of Matabeleland.
From colonial times to present day Zimbabwe whenever life and dignity of human persons were threatened at almost every turn the Catholic Church in Matabeleland remained the premier institution which defended human rights. Indeed, the Catholic Church has come a long way from humble beginnings; great achievement is; and great numbers are of the church today.
However, the history is not without blemish. Some Catholics crawl under the table when people start talking about the church in social settings. The future will not be without blemish either. But the contribution of the Catholic Church in Matabeleland is unmatched and that story has to be told lest it is destroyed by anti-Catholic segments in the media world.
I have met people who clamour and say the church should return to the past, so it can intrigue people again. These people are reactionaries, not visionaries. Too often their cries are driven by fear of uncertainty and a grappling for stability rather than placing their trust in God and cooperating with his future. They allow their humanity to get the better of them as they try to control things beyond their control.
God always wants our future to be bigger than our past. Not equal to our past but bigger, better, brighter and more significant. God wants your future and my future and the future of the church to be bigger than the past. God never goes back; He always moves forward. Adam and Eve were banished from the garden. God could have redeemed them and sent them back to the garden but he didn’t for two reasons: God always wants our future to be bigger than our past, and God always moves forward.
One of the most incredible abilities God has given the human person is the ability to dream. We are able to look into the future and imagine something better than today, and then return to the present and work to make that imagined future a reality. For years I have reflected on a single verse from Proverbs. It never ceases to ignite my passion for the church. “Where there is no vision people will perish” (Proverbs 29:18). I have found this to be true in every area of life. In a country where there is no vision, the people will perish. In a marriage where there is no vision, people will perish. In a business, a school or a family where there is no vision, the people will perish.
The Catholic Church in Matabeleland as it celebrates 140 years of existence needs a vision, a vision to inspire and mobilise Catholics young and old. A vision that can be understood by a seven-year-old as easily as it can by someone with degrees.
This Catholic vision we are searching of is the sole responsibility of everyone. We each have a role in imagining and working towards a future for the church that will confound the sceptics and inspire masses.
So let us press on toward the future God has envisioned for us and for the Catholic Church in Matabeleland; it is time for us to become people of possibility again. Too much of what we do is governed by a very limited way of thinking. We gravitate towards what is manageable, rather than imagining what is possible.
We have lost touch with best practices and settle for the way things have always been done. 140 years celebration is a time for Catholics to reimagine what incredible things are possible if they walk with God. Now is the time for Catholics in Matabeleland to become a people of possibility.
140 years of existence is also a celebration to go back to the basics. I know this may sound pedestrian or trite. But when Catholics dedicate themselves to their rich and dynamic spirituality, extra ordinary things begin to happen. If we live and love the way the Gospel invites us to, we will intrigue people.
Respect and cherish your spouse and children, and people will be intrigued. Work and pay attention to the details of your work, and you will intrigue people. Go out of your way help those in need and people will be intrigued. When we do what is right even when it comes at a great cost to ourselves, people are intrigued. Patience, kindness, humility, gratitude, thoughtfulness, generosity, courage and forgiveness are all intriguing.
All of this leads me to conclude that celebrating 140 years of existence is an opportune time to rediscover Catholicism. As we celebrate 140 years one thing is certain whatever Catholics do or not do with their significant number they will determine the future of humanity and Matabeleland in particular.
Amhlophe, Makorokoto, Matjena, Congratulations to the Christian world for such a great milestone.
–Father Mbongolwane is a Catholic priest based at Brunapeg Mission. The views expressed in this article are personal. They are not the official views of the Archdiocese of Bulawayo or the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe
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