Online Reporter
Bruce Ndlovu, Sunday Life Reporter
THE announcement of Pope Francis’ death last Monday was a particularly devastating blow for Gogo Theresia Simela Moyo (née Tshuma), a parishioner at St Peter’s Sontala in Kezi, Matabeleland South Province.
In her lifetime, Gogo Moyo, a centenarian, had witnessed the reigns of seven Popes.
For 12 years, Pope Francis (88), who was laid to rest yesterday, had been her Holy Father during a reign that saw him praised as one of the most progressive religious leaders around the globe.
Like millions around the globe, Gogo Moyo was taken by surprise by the passing of the leader of the Catholic Church. What made the loss particularly painful and personal was that it came only a day after she had celebrated her 100th birthday.
On Easter Sunday, she had received the Apostolic Blessing from the Pope as part of her centenary celebrations. Pope Francis’ death, a day later, was like a dagger driven straight into her delicate heart.
Father Thabiso Clive Sibanda, the priest in charge of Minda Mission at Maphisa Growth Point also in Kezi, provided a shoulder to lean on for Gogo Moyo and others grieving the loss of Pope Francis.
Their grief was understandable. After all, Pope Francis had become known as the voice of the Global South, speaking out forcefully on health, poverty, climate and migration — issues that also affected them.
“Pope Francis’ death had a great effect on the lives of parishioners around here,” Fr Sibanda told Sunday Life in an interview.
“There is a feeling that people are disquieted by his departure, and yet consoled by a deep sense of gratitude that springs forth from our hearts to God for the service of Pope Francis, who pointed us to the Merciful Father.
“People are saddened by his demise because, in our Mission, he is regarded as a shepherd who journeyed humbly with all people, opening wide the doors of the church, reaching out even to the poorest and the vulnerable.”
Father Hlakanipha Mbongolwane Dube of Brunapeg Mission in nearby Mangwe District, also in Matabeleland South, said the death of Pope Francis had been greeted with sadness by a community that had benefited first-hand from the late Catholic leader’s philanthropic spirit.
Pope Francis appointed Father Dube as Missionary of Mercy from 2015 to 2016 at the request of Archbishop Alex Thomas of Bulawayo.
“The death of Pope Francis has been received with great sadness at St Ann’s Brunapeg Mission, under Chief Tjanguluba. The mission also runs a hospital that received life-changing donations during Pope Francis’s tenure. We will remember Pope Francis for his generosity,” he said.
The late Pope Francis
For some Catholics in Brunapeg, the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday felt like too much of a coincidence. According to one parishioner, Winter Ndlovu, the death of the Pope around the time Christ was resurrected was a sign of divine intervention.
“He passed on Easter. This shows that he was no ordinary man. He has passed on, but the manner of his passing was a reminder of just how great a man he was. We are sad at his passing, but if we needed a sign to show that he was a blessed man, this was it,” he said.
Fr Innocent Makawule Ndlovu, the parish priest at St Joseph’s Mission in Kezi said while the death of the Pope had dampened the tail end of Easter celebrations, some had chosen to take it as a good omen.
“His death just took away the joy and jubilation of the resurrection during Easter. To many people around here, the passing of Pope Francis was linked to the resurrection of Jesus. He passed on during Easter, and for many, it was too much of a coincidence. So, we pray that he rises with Christ and his body will be resurrected on the last day,” he said. Fr Ndlovu said as social media messages were sent in village WhatsApp groups, he started to realise that some thought he was the one who had passed away.
“We got a lot of messages from people, with a lot of them saying that they heard that Father had died. At some point, I was taken aback because I realised that some might think that I am the one who has passed away when we are mourning his holiness instead,” Fr Ndlovu said with a laugh.
He added that while some might have seen Pope Francis as merely a religious leader, he had become an inspiration for environmentalists in a district tucked away in a notoriously arid corner of Matabeleland South.
After his appointment in March 2013, Pope Francis quickly took up climate and environmental issues as key themes of his papacy.
“If we destroy creation, creation will destroy us,” he warned an audience in Rome in May 2014, the year before the Paris Agreement was signed.
“Never forget this.”
In his 2015 encyclical, Pope Francis elevated climate and environmental protection to the same level as social justice in the Vatican’s doctrine.
“His teachings on ecology, creation and the health of Mother Earth reached far and wide, including here in St Joseph’s. That message was well-received at St Joseph’s, where we have Agritex and others who care for our local environment. We have a Dingani Ndlovu, who is an environmentalist and the passing of Pope Francis touched him deeply,” said Fr Ndlovu.
He added that, to his surprise, it was not only Catholics in the community who mourned the passing of Pope Francis, but many others who not only sympathised with their neighbours but felt that a great global leader had fallen.
“Surprisingly, a lot of non-Catholics have joined us in mourning, expressing their condolences for the loss we have suffered. This speaks to the spirit of togetherness that we have as a people. We might belong to different denominations, but we are still guided by the spirit of Ubuntu.
“I think that Pope Francis was seen as a father figure. His teachings on family touched a lot of people here. He said that our families are not perfect, so we need to love, forgive and appreciate those close to us. That message resonated with a lot of people,” he said.
Fanafuthi Ncube, who attends the Apostolic Faith Mission in Marinoha in Kezi, said he had also been moved by the death of the Pope.
“While we might belong to different denominations, this does not mean that we are deaf to good teachings that we might hear from priests and bishops from other churches. Some people in our sects also started as Catholics, so there is a lot of sentimental value attached to the passing of the Pope,” he said.
