By Charles Pangani
Bishop Montfort Stima of the Diocese of Mangochi, has encouraged Catholics to be self-reliant. The Bishop made the remarks on Sunday, 25th September, 2022, which happens to be the 26th Sunday of the ordinary time in the catholic church when he administered the sacrament of confirmation to 148 children at St. Padre Pio-Katema Parish in Mangochi.
The call was made to all Christians to be self-reliant and contribute for the good of the Church and the country as a whole indicating that Christian families have got a huge role to play in the Church and they have to be attentive to the dictates of the Holy Spirits for guidance. “The Catholic doctrine encourages people not to be idle in their families, but to work tirelessly for the whole year not only depending on rainy season which is for few months. To be self-reliant, it means that the Christians must have good houses, food, wealth and anything valuable to support their families. For this to happen, people have to work tirelessly in their fields, not depending only on tobacco as cash crop but also trying other crops,” Bishop Stima said.
In his remarks, Rev. Fr. Kizito Khauya, the Parish Priest of Katema parish thanked the parents of the confirmands for their tireless support and encouragement they rendered to the children during the preparations for the sacrament. He also encouraged the parishioners to be committed in their project of the church construction citing that, the only key to development is through hard working.
During the same function St. Padre Pio-Katema Parish, celebrated the feast of its patron saint, Padre Pio which falls on 23rd September.
St. Padre Pio-Katema Parish is one of the twenty-five parishes under the Diocese of Mangochi. It was established in 2003 and currently it has twenty-five churches. Fr. Kizito Khauya is its Parish priest and Father Matthew Likambale as his Parochial Vicar.