Diocese of Chikwawa

The Malawi conference of Catholic Bishops (MCCB) has announce that the Catholic Church in Malawi will commemorate and celebrate the Bible month for this year in September. Through its communication from the Secretariat, signed by the Secretary General, Very Reverend Fr Valeriano Mtseka, the Bishops have hailed the month of September as an opportunity for Christians to deepen their relationship with God, by listening, meditating and putting the word of God into practice. This years’ commemoration will be held under the theme “The word of God: The foundation of 125 years of Evangelization and forming missionary disciples”. The Bishops acknowledge that this theme is inspired by the Quasiquicentennial Jubilee of the permanent establishment of the Catholic Church in Malawi. Among the activities encouraged during this Bible month are the procession and enthronement of the Bible, wearing of the Bible cloth, decorating the church and the altar with the Bible cloth and others. The national launch will take place on 6th September 2026 at St Martin, Chirimba parish in the Archdiocese of Blantyre. The Diocesan launch of the Bible month will take place at Nkhate (Mzimu Woyera) parish on 30th August 2026. The Bible Sunday celebration will be held on 27th September at the same venue. On this day, all parishes are reminded to submit the collections for the day to the Diocesan treasury. September was declared by the Catholics Bishops in Malawi as a Bible month for Catholics every year.

His Lordship Peter Musikuwa, Bishop of the Diocese of Chikwawa has called on newly ordained priests to embrace their calling to priesthood and commit themselves to serving the Church. The Bishop made the call on Saturday, 1st August, 2026 at St Michael’s Cathedral, at a eucharistic celebration where three deacons were ordained to priesthood. Delivering his sermon, the Bishop recounted the Lord Jesus in the temple realizing the prophecy of Isaiah who exclaimed that he was filled with the Holy Spirit. He, therefore, called on the new priests to embrace and allow to be the led by the Spirit in their ministry. Speaking at the ceremony, Fr Francis Kunkeyani, one of the newly ordained, thanked everyone who helped them reach the Lord’s altar. He pleaded for prayers for the success of their calling. The three priests ordained last Saturday are; Fr Francis Kunkeyani, Fr Alexious Lipenga and Fr Matthews Lovemore Fatch. The three come from Molere, Chikwawa and Nchalo parishes respectively. The Bishop announced that Fr Kunkeyani will begin his ministry at Ngabu Parish, Fr Fatch at Nsanje parish and Fr Lipenga at Nkhate parish. The addition 0f the three priests brings the total of all clergy in the Diocese to 45.

The Vatican has declared that six bishops associated with the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Pius X (SSPX) have incurred automatic (latae sententiae) excommunication after carrying out unauthorized episcopal ordinations in Écône, Switzerland, on 1 July 2026. In a decree issued on 2 July, the Vatican’s Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith said the ordinations were conducted without papal approval and against the will of the Pope, describing them as “an act of a schismatic nature.” The decree, signed by Cardinal Víctor Manuel Fernández, states that Bishops Alfonso de Galarreta and Bernard Fellay, who performed the consecrations, together with the four newly ordained bishops—Pascal Schreiber, Michael Goldade, Michel Poinsinet de Sivry, and Marc Hanappier—have all incurred automatic excommunication reserved to the Apostolic See. The Vatican said the canonical penalty took effect immediately upon the unlawful consecrations, which took place during a ceremony in Écône on 1 July.