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Leonard Ncube
THERE was pomp and fanfare in Bulawayo recently when thousands of Catholics from Bulawayo Archdiocese and other places countrywide gathered at St Mary’s Cathedral to celebrate the conferment of Minor Basilica status on the landmark house of worship.
As early as 8am on 31 August, the city was literally painted in the church’s traditional colours of brown and coffee, blue and white as church members from different corners of the country headed for St Mary’s Cathedral to join in the celebrations.
Some were putting on yellow and white T-shirts with the inscription; “St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica” and it was evident that all parishioners were in a celebratory mood.
The occasion was visible, as part of 9th Avenue between Herbert Chitepo Street and Lobengula Street was barricaded and so was the stretch of road from Ross Camp to Lobengula Street at Hamara Terminus to allow free movement of the thousands of Catholics who were heading for the lifetime achievement celebrations.
The celebratory Mass, which would probably remain etched in the minds of all Zimbabwean Catholics that attended the event, started at 10am with the former Pope’s representative to Zimbabwe, Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop George Kocherry blessing the building.
The main cathedral was filled to capacity and thousands braved the heat as they followed proceedings from a big screen mounted on the Dominican Convent school grounds.
Archbishop Nuncio Kocherry presided over the Homily and congratulated Zimbabweans for their fidelity to Christianity and the church.
“This is a symbol of your faith, thank you for your fidelity in Pope. I have been transferred to Bangladesh and it is important to note that my first official assignment was in Bulawayo and my last official mission is in Bulawayo again,” said the Papal Nuncio who spent eight years in Zimbabwe.
The Archdiocese covers the whole of Bulawayo, Matabeleland South and Lupane, Nkayi and Tsholotsho in Matabeleland North.
Bishop Michael Bhasera of Masvingo Diocese, Bishop Alberto Serano (Hwange Diocese) and Bishop Angel Floro (Gokwe Diocese) were among the high profile churchmen who attended the celebratory Mass.
Bishop Floro, who is the chairman of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference, congratulated the Bulawayo Archdiocese saying the conferment was an honour to the whole church in Zimbabwe.
After celebration of mass, everyone was served lunch at about 2pm.
Pope Francis conferred St Mary’s Cathedral the status of Basilica recently and the church is the first Basilica not only in the country but in the whole of Southern Africa.
The development is expected to boost tourism in the city as many people would want to visit the cathedral.
The Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Bulawayo, Alex Thomas Kaliyanil said the conferment of the Basilica to St Mary’s Cathedral will not change the status of the Archdiocese.
“This is a great blessing and privilege to all Catholics of Zimbabwe in the year of faith. This is a privilege granted by the Pope to a church for its architectural beauty, history and role in the formation of faith,” he said.
“This Basilica is our faith; please do everything possible in the strength of your faith. Make this Basilica great, it is for us, let us keep it.
When this church was blessed in 1904 there were only 480 Catholics in Bulawayo and today there are more than 40 000. This Basilica does not change the status of the Archdiocese and Archbishop; it only changes the status of St Mary’s Cathedral.”
His deputy, Reverend Fr Kevin Takaendesa, who is St Mary’s Cathedral presiding priest, said the church was already looking forward to receiving many pilgrims.
“So much is going to happen in the city of Bulawayo. People will come and that will boost tourism in the city,” said Fr Takaendesa who will soon be leaving for Rome for further studies.
The new Rector for the Minor Basilica will be Fr Hlakanipha Dube.
Bulawayo Town Clerk, Mr Middleton Nyoni who attended the ceremony on behalf of the Bulawayo City Council, congratulated the church, saying there has always been a close working relationship between the local authority and the Catholic Church in terms of social responsibility.
“We want to congratulate the church and the city for the conferment of the Minor Basilica. The city of Bulawayo appreciates the relationship that exists between the church and council. The Catholic Church is part of the council through social development,” he said.
A Basilica is a designation or status given to a church by the Pope through a proclamation passed by the congregations for Divine Worship and Sacraments, the governing body of the Roman Catholic Church to the churches of historical significance to the church at large as well as the local area; diocese or even region the church is located in.
It is used to identify churches of historic and spiritual importance and the Basilica is an important pilgrimage in Catholic liturgy.
St Mary’s has played a very important role in the evangelisation of not only Bulawayo but also Matabeleland region and Zimbabwe since 1903, according to history.
There are two classes of Basilicas in the Catholic Church —Minor and Major.
The nearest Basilica is in Nairobi, Kenya, in East Africa.
There are seven major Basilicas in the world namely, St Peter, St John Lateran, St Mary Major, St Paul Outside the Walls, St Lawrence, St Sebastian, all in Rome and the Holy Cross in Jerusalem.
A minor Basilica is any other important church in Rome or throughout the world which has been officially designated Basilica by the Pope.
The Catholic Church has welcomed the granting of St Mary’s Cathedral the status of a Minor Basilica as an exceptional privilege.
The word Basilica also has an architectural meaning, which has a close relationship with the religious meaning of a Basilica.
A cathedral is the chief church of a diocese and in itself is also a parish church with the archbishop technically the priest in charge and he appoints a rector.
A shrine is where something of historical significance has taken place where a relic is preserved for special devotion and in the Archdiocese of Bulawayo, there is Our Lady of Fatima in Pumula South and Empandeni Mission in Mangwe District.
St Mary’s Cathedral is therefore, not a shrine but now a Minor Basilica which is expected to attract several pilgrims thereby boosting the country’s tourism.
St Mary’s Cathedral was built by Jesuit Priests in 1903, becoming the third Catholic building in Matabeleland after Empandeni (1887) and
St Patrick’s in Makokoba (1902) being named in honour of Mother Mary the mother of Jesus Christ and the Jesuits named the street, Lobengula Street, in honour of King Lobengula, who although did not embrace Christianity, was very friendly and sociable and treated the Catholic missionaries with dignity and respect.
The conferment is also in recognition of the church’s role in the economic and religious development of Matabeleland and Zimbabwe where it built hospitals and schools where many politicians and leaders learnt.
Online Reporter