OFMCap. Order of Friars Minor Capuchin

OFMConv. Order of Friars Minor Conventual

St. Francis of Assisi received the first brothers as a gift from God the Father in 1208 in his own town where he had started living as a ‘penitent’. And when they reached the number of 12, he felt he had to submit his form of life (made up with quotations from the Gospel) to the pope of his time: Innocent III. This he did in 1209, and after the latter’s initial surprise, he was given the task of “preaching penance” to people.

From that moment, while living the fraternal joyful experience in minority and humility, he allowed the advice of the Church leaders to contribute moulding this family as it grew over the entire Europe and in missionary lands as far as China, and later to the American continent.

In 1517 pope Leo X divided the Franciscan family and called Friars Minor Conventual that section that from the very first century had implemented the popes’ call to renew Christian Europe by preaching, catechizing and administering the sacraments in large town churches, where the friars had continued spreading the message of ‘peace and goodness’. Others had been teaching both to young candidates to the Order and to students at large in the public and private schools which were erected in various countries.

In 1930 a small group of Conventual Friars left Italy for Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and (after an initial training in the languages and in the local customs of the area with the Missionaries of Africa in Northern Province) on 8 April 1931 settled on the outskirts of Ndola, since the Vatican “Propaganda Fide” (propagation of the Catholic faith) had entrusted to them the evangelization of the entire Copperbelt.

By 1938 they were assigned also the North-Western Province (then called Kasempa Province) and to that combined work contributed over the next 70 years nearly 200 Conventual Friars from Europe and United States of America, and even as far as from Japan.

On 19 July 1991 the first Conventual friars moved from the Franciscan House of Studies in Livingstone to the site where St. Bonaventure was still being built. The first few months were tough, but with the completion of the buildings, the beginning of classes, the cultivation of the vegetable garden, orchard, planting other trees and the introduction of animal husbandry, life became more manageable.

Today prayer, study, manual work and sport fill the daily life of the young student friars who arrive at Rivotorto friary, within the campus of St. Bonaventure University, for the three-year course in Philosophy and Franciscan Studies.

The present composition of the Conventual family stretches both to Western Africa and to Eastern and Southern Africa, with friars from Ghana, Burkina Faso, Togo, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Angola, Zambia.

If you feel like experiencing our life, we repeat to you the words of our Lord: “Come and See”.

OMI Oblates of Mary Immaculate

The Oblates from the Zambia Delegation are found at Sancta Maria in Lukulu, St. Michael in Kalabo, St. Leopold in Shang’ombo and Oblate Radio Liseli as well as Jack Joyce Community both in Mongu. In Lusaka, they are found at Mary Immaculate Parish, Centre house, Delegation Administration Office and at the De Mazenod Formation House. In Southern province, they are found in Mazabuka and Livingstone. In Northern Province, they are found in Kasama. In Central province, thy are found in Kabwe. The OMI Zambia Delegation’s main apostolate is Missionary work, which is the reason they came to Zambia in the early 1980s, and celebrated their 25th anniversary in 1999. The Oblates work in areas where life is difficult and most of the people are extremely poor.

The Oblate Centre house in Lusaka was used as a distribution Centre, guest house as well as home base for the Oblates in Zambia. Today, it is the home of the Delegation Superior as the Administration Office has moved to 11 Ng’umbo Road.

The Oblates have a Formation House where a Pre-Novitiate programme is run. This Pre-Novitiate is located off St. Bonaventure Road, plot number 162, Makeni. They attend to philosophy studies for three years at St. Bonaventure University. The formation team is comprised of Frs. Patrick Gitzen, Chola Mumba and Christopher Phiri, OMI. Besides the formal lessons, the pre-novices also go through Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) at the University Teaching Hospital (UTH) where the students help out with patients in wards.

The Oblates are also into Mass Media in order to reach as many people as possible in their quest to evangelise and serve Western Province using Oblate Radio Liseli.

A number of programmes have been put in Place for the Youths who have been given a chance to take up leadership roles in the church in all Oblate parishes in Zambia.

Besides Missionary work, some Oblates like the late Fr. Jack Joyce, OMI, went round the country preaching retreats for different congregations. Other oblates worked with refugees while others were involved in educational activities.

OSB Order of St. Benedict

The Order of Saint Benedict is founded on the Rule of saint Benedict, who was born in the second half of the 5th century (around 480 in Norcia, the Province of Umbria, Italy). He studied very little in Rome and disgusted by the corrupted lifestyle of Romans, he left the city to live the monastic life.

He went and lived into a cave in Subiaco where he founded twelve monasteries of twelve monks each. However, he had to leave Subiaco and move to Mount Cassino. There, he built a monastery to which he gave a rule that reached us as the Rule of Saint Benedict.

Benedict conceived his legislation as a “minimum Rule … for beginners” whose observance will help them “attain to the loftier heights of doctrine and virtue” (cf. chap 73). With this mindset in its composition, the rule appeared to be very flexible and easy to fulfill by anyone. For example, Benedict allowed wine, though with a bit of embarrassment, to his monks (RB 40): “We read, it is true, that wine is by no means a drink for monks; but since the monks of our day cannot be persuaded of this, let us at least agree to drink sparingly and not to satiety, because “wine makes even the wise fall away”; he allowed meat for the sick brothers (RB 39). At the vigil, he reduced the number of psalms from 24 in the roman office to 12 in his rule. For the vespers, 4 psalms instead of 5 as in the roman office. Moreover, the rule softly equilibrated the life of the monk between the Work of God (Liturgy), the manual work and personal formation with the Lectio Divina (meditation and studies).

During the Carolingian reform the emperor (Louis the Pious following his father Charlemagne) wanted to unify monastic practice by proposing one monastic rule for all the monasteries of his empire. In fact Charlemagne had asked for it from the Abbot of Mount Cassino because of its qualities (brief, clear and flexible). Bishops and Abbots, during the Synod of Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle) in 817 proposed the Rule of Saint Benedict. It thus became the monastic rule for all the western monasteries and Benedict was recognized as the Patriarch of the western monks.

Under the Rule of Saint Benedict are mainly the Benedictines (Black Benedictines), Cistercians, Olivetans, Camaldolenses (White Benedictines), Silvestrines (Blue Benedictines) and other later congregations. Today 19 congregations constitute the Order of Saint Benedict. Among these congregations there is the one of St. Ottilien in Germany. The Congregation of St. Ottilien has the following abbeys in Africa: Peramiho, Ndanda, Hanga, Mvimwa in Tanzania, Tigoni in Kenya, Inkamana in South Africa, Agbang in Togo, and the Priories of Tororo in Uganda, Kairo in Egypt, Katibunga in Zambia (Mpika Diocese), etc.

Our founders here in Zambia came from Tanzania (Hanga monastery) and started in Katibunga on 1st October 1987. This community has around 40 monks today.

For the junior student-monks of Katibunga and of other East African monasteries, Beda House was established here in Lusaka on 8th December 2019. It provides a Benedictine environment while they attend studies at their respective universities and seminaries. At the moment 12 monks live at Beda House in Woodlands. Among these, 5 are students of St. Bonaventure University.

PSS Society of the Priests of St. Sulpice

The Society of St. Sulpice was founded in 1641 in Paris, France by Fr. Jean – Jacques Olier. This was during the period of serious reform and intense renewal for the Catholic Church in France. Olier believed that the reform and renewal of the Church in France would not be successful unless the priesthood was reformed and renewed. Near the end of 1641, he gathered a group of like-minded diocesan priests and established a seminary adjacent to the church of Saint -Sulpice and this group became known as the Society of the Priests of Saint Sulpice.

The Sulpicians are found in five continents and divided in three provinces: French province, Canadian province, and American province. The Zambian region falls under the American province and has presence in all Zambian diocesan seminaries beginning 1989, St. Anthony major seminary – Kachebere Malawi – 2018 and also, runs the formation house for students studying at St. Bonaventure college in Makeni – Lusaka from Gaborone diocese – Botswana since 2020 August.

Fr. Olier’s fundamental vision for formation is that the seminary community is to share one rule of life. The seminary is to be a single community of formators and seminarians in which the seminarians are invited into the life of the priests, to live with them and to live like them. What matters most in the Sulpician seminary is communicated in the formative relationship of life lived in common. Therefore, Sulpician life is dedicated to serving the renewal of the Church by promoting excellence in the formation of diocesan priests.

Honoring this long-standing missionary tradition, the American province of the Sulpicians came to Zambia under the guidance of Cardinal Josef Tomko, prefect of the Congregation for the Propagation of Faith then (1988), to beef up stability in the Zambian diocesan seminaries. Bishop Telesphore Mpundu, bishop director of seminaries by then facilitated the arrival of the Sulpicians in Zambia.

SAC Society of the Christian Apostolate (Pallottines)

‘Pallottines’ is the known name of ‘The Society of the Catholic Apostolate’ a Religious Congregation Priests, Brothers and Sisters. It was founded by St. Vincent Pallotti in 1835, Rome. Vincent Pallotti was born in 1795 and was a priest of the diocese of Rome. He was canonized on 20 January 1963 by Pope John XXIII. Pallottines endavour to conscientise every person to grow in the awareness to be Apostle of Jesus Christ. According to St. Vincent Pallotti every baptized person is called to be an Apostle of Jesus Christ. The Charism of the Society is to ‘Revive faith and enkindle charity’.

The objective of the Society is to revive faith and charity in all Catholics and to diffuse these virtues throughout the entire world by employing all the possible means like prayers, evangelization, labours, or by other contributions. Pallottines do have their presence and apostolates over 55 countries all over the world. Pallottines are working in about 12 countries in Africa including South Africa, Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania, Mozambique, Kenya, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Uganda. Pallottine Zambia Mission commenced in 2005 by the Indian Pallottine priests at the invitation of Late Cardinal Medardo Joseph Mazombwe, the then Archbishop of Lusaka. Pallottine Missionary Sisters of Catholic Apostolate belonging to the Mary Queen of Peace Province, England-Tanzania landed in Zambia in 2017. Pallottines in Zambia are mainly located in the Archdiocese of Lusaka and are engaged in Pastoral, Educational, Medical and Socio-charitable Apostolates. Pallottine formation house too is situated at Westwood, Lusaka.

SDB Salesians of Don Bosco

“Ut filios Dei qui erant dispersi congregaret in unum.” The Gospel of St. John teaches us that the Son of God came on the earth to gather the scattered children of God. Today these words apply mainly to the young, the scattered children of God. Following the mission of the Son of God, Don Bosco gathered the poor, needy and scattered youth of God and formed the oratory and together with his helpers, on 18 December 1859, founded the Salesian Society and called them “SALESIANS” after St. Francis de Sales whom he had always admired for his gentleness, kindness and religious zeal. The congregation was approved in 1869 with the programme expressed in a motto: “Da mihi animas cetera tolle” (Give me souls and take away the rest). The salvation of the young and serving God is done with love, kindness and apostolic enthusiasm following the steps of our father and founder St. John Bosco (1815-1888). The Salesian Spirit shows the style of life and conduct with which a Salesian lives as Son of Don Bosco which is summoned and centered in pastoral charity. Its particular manifestation is the educational system of Don Bosco, called the Preventive System, based on Reason, Religion and Loving Kindness, which is perceived not only as the efficient educational method, but also as an inspiration for the way they live and act.

With the founding of the congregation of Salesian Sisters – Daughters of Mary Help of Christians and Pious Association of Salesian Cooperators in 1872 and 1876 respectively by Don Bosco himself, today, the Salesian Family is a big tree of 33 members spread throughout 134 countries. Don Bosco sent his first missionaries from Italy to Argentina in 1875. Mission Africa was very dear to Don Bosco. In 1886 he wrote, “Missions, especially those in Africa, are very dear to me; … come, let us go to the Cape of Good Hope, Nigeria, … because the air is good there.” Successors of Don Bosco realized his dreams in 1891 in Algeria, 1894 in Tunisia, 1896 in Egypt and Republic of South Africa. Being the growth of Salesian Mission in very nominal, the 21st General Chapter in 1978 emphasized its importance through “The Project Africa”. The Zambian mission was one of the babies of this non-reversible reality of “The Project Africa”. The General Council entrusted the four Polish provinces the evangelization in Zambia. On 12 October 1982, the first Salesian Missionaries from Poland reached Zambia. Now, celebrating 40 years of arrival, the Salesians of the Vice Province of Zambia with its head office in Lusaka has 14 missions and 120 Salesians serving in the countries of Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Namibia.

SVD Society of the Divine Word (Verbites)

The SOCIETY OF THE DIVINE WORD [SVD – Societas verbi Divini] was founded in 1875 by a German priest, Saint Arnold Janssen, to preach the Gospel and live its message with people in other lands. Today Divine Word Missionaries come from all over the world, working together to help the most disadvantaged of God’s children in 80 countries on five continents. From humble beginnings, in the last 145 years, the SVD has grown into one of the largest international missionary congregations in the Catholic Church.

Based on their education and formation, Divine Word Missionary priests and brothers live interculturally with other members of the SVD as well as the poor and neglected. You will find them working with orphaned children in India, victims of HIV-AIDS in Thailand as well as youth groups in inner city Chicago. We continue live and work by St. Arnold’s belief that, “…to proclaim the Good News is the first and greatest act of love of neighbor.” As priests and brothers, we are men of prayer and faith. Aware that each has been called to a unique vocation, we spread the Word of God where the Gospel has not yet been preached, or where the local church is not yet viable. Our emphasis on interculturalism, education and professional skills enables us to minister throughout the world in a variety of ways: pastoral and sacramental ministries, educational and religious training, evangelization, youth, adult and family services, healthcare, seminary formation, counseling and chaplaincy, care of environment & peace and justice.

In 1889, realizing the need for missionary Sisters, Fr. Arnold co-founded the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit (SSpS) with Blessed Mother Maria Helena Stollenwerk and Blessed Mother Josefa Hendrina Stenmanns. In 1896, they co-founded a cloistered congregation, the Missionary Sisters Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration (SSpSAP). Both of these religious orders collaborate, on mission and through dedicated prayer, to the mission of the Society of the Divine Word.

DIOC. Diocesan Seminarians (of Gaborone)

Who is a diocesan priest?
A priest who commits himself to and is ordained for service of God’s people in a definite geographical area (a diocese) is called a diocesan priest

In addition to serving the day-to-day needs of people in parishes, diocesan priests may also serve in a variety of other capacities such as campus ministers, teachers, chaplains for hospitals or prisons, or in diocesan administration.

Who can become a diocesan priest?

A single man with average intelligence, emotional stability, good health and sincere interest in serving God’s people may qualify for the priesthood. He must have a sincere interest in people and a true love of the Roman Catholic Church and its teachings, as outlined by the Second Vatican Council and subsequent official Church documents. He should also be a person who is generous and looking for the challenge that comes in following the Lord Jesus Christ and His Church.

How long does it take to become a priest?

For a man considering the possibility of priesthood he must ultimately receive a bachelor’s degree and a graduate theology degree. The exact requirements are tailored to the situation of the individual but generally involve the candidate receiving substantial education in philosophy and theology, much of which is obtained at the seminary.

In the Diocese of Gaborone, seminarians start with one year of spiritual in Botswana then they proceed for philosophy here in St. Bonaventure University for three years while staying in St Kizito House of Formation just 3 minutes’ walk from the university and a theological seminary for four years at St Dominic Seminary. The years of training include significant times of discernment about the vocation to priesthood. Following this time of preparation and discernment, the Bishop may call the candidate to Ordination. Therefore the total years for formation are 8 years.

Lay person

These are students who do not belong to any family. They may be Catholics or non Catholics and usually they are self sponsored, self catering.