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Sindisiwe Sibanda, Sunday News Reporter
THOUSANDS of Catholics, including bishops from all the country’s dioceses will converge on St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica in Bulawayo today to join the rest of the world in marking Pope’s Day.
The Pope’s Day marks the day the Pope, the world head of the Catholic Church was elected into office. Pope Francis, the 266th and current Pope of the church was elected on 13 March 2013. Pope Francis is the first Jesuit (Society of Jesus) to become a Pope and chose the papal name of Francis in honour of St Francis of Assisi. He was born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in December 1936.
In a statement, the Archdiocese of Bulawayo said this would be the first time celebrations are held in the city.
“Catholic custom is that the Pope’s mass is celebrated throughout the Catholic world every year on the day the Pope was installed in office and since 2014 the mass has been hosted by other diocese in Zimbabwe and it is the first time it is coming to the Archdiocese of Bulawayo. Equally it is also Catholic custom to celebrate the Bishop’s Mass (or day) this being the day the diocese’s sitting bishop assumed office,” said the church.
“The mass starts at 10am and most of the Catholic Bishops in Zimbabwe are expected at the occasion. In addition several priests and other religions, including nuns and brothers as well as thousands of laity will fill the Basilica to capacity at the mass. Catholic tradition is that such a mass is held inside the Cathedral and as such there are no arrangements to hold an outside mass in order to accommodate the thousands of people expected.”
The head of the diocese in Bulawayo’s Archbishop Alex Thomas as the host will be the main celebrant at the gathering.
He said: “It is an occasion we have eagerly waited for and we have made our best preparations for the day. Being the only basilica in Southern Africa, St Mary’s will do its best to show why it is a Basilica.”
There are an estimated 1,1 million Catholics in Zimbabwe.
Online Reporter