Time for Jubilee: Malawi's Kachebere Major Seminary at 75 years

The Catholic Church in Malawi will this Saturday, 10 January 2014 officially inaugurate Kachebere Major Seminary’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations. The ceremony will be marked by a special Mass.

Kachebere, also known as St. Anthony’s Major Seminary, a philosophical college under the Episcopal Conference of Malawi, opened its doors on 10 October 1939 and has thus clocked 75 years of existence.

Bishop of  Karonga Diocese, Martin Mtumbuka, who is also Bishop-Chair for Seminaries in Malawi is set to lead other Bishops, priests, the religious and laity in the celebrations marking the opening of the Jubilee year.

“The seminary is an institution where young people are formed and prepared for priestly ministry. Although not all young men who pass through the corridors of the seminary end up as priests, the institution’s formation programme is good as a platform for future leaders and servants of the people of God in various sectors of life in our country, Malawi, “said Fr George Nyanga, Chairperson for the Jubilee Committee.

According to history, at first Kachebere served as a regional seminary for the vicariates in Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Nyasaland (now Malawi). Today the seminarians come from the eight dioceses of Malawi namely, Karonga, Mzuzu, Lilongwe, Dedza, Mangochi, Zomba, Blantyre and Chikwawa.

According to information obtained from the Catholic Secretariat of the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM), the Jubilee year commences on 10th January 2015 and will run until 10th October 2015. Both the opening and closings days will have a Eucharist celebration.

On behalf of the Jubilee committee, Fr. Nyanga also said, “Several activities are expected to be carried out within this Jubilee year such as pilgrimages to the seminary by the lay faithful, workshops and seminars on the Catholic Church’s doctrine. There will also be fundraising events aimed at income generation projects meant for the seminary’s self-sustainability programme.”

“We expect all those people who have gone through this seminary to actively support the planned activities. Similarly, we expect the many who have in one way or another benefited from ‘Mother Kachebere’ to be part of this jubilee year,” continued Fr Nyanga.

Kachebere is a Malawian village bordering Zambia and Malawi. It is slightly more than 100 Kilometers west of Malawi’s capital, Lilongwe and 25 Kilometers away from Zambia’s Chipata town. 

(ECM Communications)

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