Rich Catholic history as Hwange diocese celebrates 60 years

THE Catholic Church Diocese of Hwange on Saturday celebrated 60 years of existence since establishment in 1963.

The celebration Mass at St Mary’s Shrine outside Hwange town coincided with ordination of two priests and five Deacons.

Bishop of Hwange Raphael Mabuza Ncube presided over the ordination and celebration Mass which was attended by thousands of Catholics drawn from Binga, Dete, Hwange, Lupane and Victoria Falls deaneries that make up Hwange Diocese.

Bishop Ncube, accompanied by former Bishop of Hwange Albert Serano and other priests, lit a candle to mark 60 years of existence of the diocese which in its history has had four bishops; Bishop Ignatius Prieto, Archbishop Robert Ndlovu who is now in Harare, Bishop Serano and now Bishop Mabuza Ncube.

The church has divided the history of the diocese into period of the pioneers which is the era before 1952, period of the Apostolic Prefecture (1953 to 1962), the 25 years of the Diocese (1963 to 1988) period of new developments (1989 to 2022) and this year which is the 60th birthday.

According to history documented by the church, in January 1924, St Ignatius School was opened by Fr. Joseph Esser in honour of the founder of the Jesuits, St Ignatius of Loyola.

After 1930 the Mariannhill missionaries who had replaced the Jesuits in Bulawayo regularly visited St. Ignatius.

In November 1932 Fr Joseph Kammerlechner made the first trip into the rural area by bicycle, with the idea of finding a place to open the first permanent mission in Hwange District.

A month later Brother Aegidius Fister toured along the Zambezi to assess the area and in early 1933 a firm decision was made to open a mission station near the Zambezi.

They chose Mapeta village in the Simangani area but there was no road to reach the area and so it was decided to build one in August 1933, and Fr. Andrew Hotze and Brother Mauritius were appointed to open the new mission.

Another school St Peter School at Nekamandama near Lukuzhe river was opened in January 1933 as the first rural Catholic school in Hwange.

By the beginning of 1934 missions were established at Makwa and the first two sisters to go to Makwa Mission were Sr. Reginata and Sr. Notkera both of the Congregation of the Precious Blood, and Mr. Antonio Robo, a catechist who was later burnt down in Mozambique.

The first local convert in Hwange was welcomed into the Catholic Church on 23 June 1934 and the first baptism took place on 7 July the same year.

It was also in 1934 that Musuna School was opened near Musuna River.

St. Mary’, Lambo, Luseche, Nengasha, Milonga, Kanywambizi, Mbizha were opened.

In May 1949 a group of Spanish Missionaries arrived in Bulawayo Diocese and were posted in Hwange.

One year later Srs. Cecilia, Trinity, Dolores and Mother Jesus, of the Congregation of the Missionary Daughters of Calvary arrived also at St. Mary’s Mission.

On 20th June 1953 the Holy See erected a new jurisdiction called the Apostolic Prefecture of Wankie now Hwange comprising the districts of Hwange, Binga, parts Lupane and Nkayi North of Shangani River.

By the end of 1962 the Apostolic Prefecture of Hwange had twelve mission stations and parishes, 59 Catholic schools, four mission hospitals and over a hundred out-stations.

On March 1, 1963 Pope John XXIII erected the Apostolic Prefecture of Hwange into a Diocese, resulting in the 60th anniversary celebrations last Saturday.

Elevation of Hwange into a standalone diocese was a sign of appreciation of the work done since the Jesuit missionaries started at St. Ignatius, to the Mariannhill missionaries, to the Spanish missionaries, to the Precious Blood Sisters, to the Daughters of Calvary and the Franciscan Sisters, to the strong lay force of committed men and women.

On the same year, then aged 40, Ignatius Prieto, a priest who had pioneered since 1949 to 1958 in the origins of the diocese and had been for five years rector of the seminary that trained missionaries in Spain, was elected bishop of Hwange and was ordained on July 7.

A new era started for the evangelization of Hwange.

The first profession of sisters from the Daughters of Calvary in Hwange took place in 1969 after making their novitiate in Spain.

The church underwent transformation between 1965 and 1970 with the introduction of the vernacular languages in the liturgy of the Church.

Then the church had four deaneries, Western Deanery, comprising Hwange parishes, St. Mary’s, Sacred Heart and Victoria Falls; the Central Deanery (Dete, Kamativi and

Kariyangwe); the Southern Deanery (Tshongokwe, Gomoza and Nkayi); and the Eastern Deanery consisting of four parishes of Gokwe.

The first diocesan priest Fr. Robert Ndlovu, now Archbishop of Harare, from Seshanke was ordained in September 1972 at his home mission in Kana.

He became bishop on 9 February 1999 and Bishop Serano became bishop on 3 February 2007 while the incumbent Bishop Ncube was ordained bishop on 30 October 2021.

Those who were ordained as priests on Saturday are Rev Brian Dube of St Joseph Makwika and Rev Pisani Nyoni St Mary’s Mission.

Brighton Munkuli of All souls Mission in Binga, Proud Muunga of St Teresa, Hwange, Randy Tshabalala of St Josephine Bhakitha, Victoria Falls, Gift Sibanda of St Johns, Makwa and Steven Zulu of St Joseph Makwika were ordained as deacons