By Charles Pangani
“We started this celebration at St. John the Baptist centre yesterday and today, we will finish with the actual Solemnity of Christ the King.” These were the words from some of the youths at Mangochi cathedral who came to attend Mass on this solemnity, on 20th November 2022. The parishes in the diocese of Mangochi observed this solemnity differently. For example, other parishes arranged that the youth should have annual retreats while others gave opportunity to the youth to take part in the liturgy like what happened at Mangochi cathedral parish, where the celebration of Eucharistic Mass was led by the bishop of the diocese of Mangochi, Rt. Rev. Montfort Stima.
In his remarks, Bishop Stima said the solemnity had come for the Christians to understand the difference of the kingdom of heaven and of the earth and he asked all the Christians in the diocese to be the bearers of the message of love and peace because it proclaims the message of the kingdom of heaven rather than being involved in corruption, hate, dishonest and envy for these proclaim the kingdom of Satan.
Speaking on behalf of all Christians, the moderator of Mangochi Cathedral parish- Mr. Daniel Bwanali- said that the solemnity of Christ the king should teach us to love all people even those who bring pain into our lives.
In the Catholic Church, every liturgical year is closed with the Solemnity of Christ the King. This solemnity was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in his encyclical entitled Quas Primas, to strongly emphasise on the fact that Jesus Christ still rules the world. He needs also to rule in the hearts and minds of all people. It was initially being celebrated on the last Sunday of October, but in 1965, Pope Paul VI changed it to be celebrated on the last Sunday of every liturgical year.