The Education Commission
It is an arm of the Catholic Church whose mission, mandate and vision derive from the gospel of Luke 4:18 and from the directive by Jesus to go and teach and baptize, Mt 28:19.
Its mandate is to promote, propagate and defend the kingdom of God through education and training.
Its vision is to provide holistic education that enhances the self – esteem and dignity of the human person in the atmosphere of truth, belonging, care and concern for all.
Its mission is to strive to live and witness through quality value based education for all expressed through the gospel values.
As a commission in the diocese, it oversees and supervises all education institutions especially primary and secondary schools; making sure that they are providing quality education for all and adhering to Catholic values.
Currently there are 89 primary schools, 5 community day secondary schools, 1 minor seminary and 1 girls boarding secondary school.
EDUCATION COORDINATOR
Established in 1999 in the Diocese of Chikwawa by late Bishop Right Revevend Felix Mkhori. The Bishop had this vision of giving the girls of the Diocese a chance to access quality and affordable education in the Diocese. As the motto states, his main idea was To Promote the Dignity of a Woman. He used to say that he was one of the people who believed that “if you educate a woman, you are educating a nation”. So these values made a girls secondary school be born just very close to the Bishop’s offices and residence.
The school is made up of several structures which include: the administration block, the academic block with four classes, a science laboratory, a multipurpose hall attached to a kitchen, five hostels with a capacity of 40 students each, a convent where MCA sisters are occupying, a borehole which is a reliable backup source for water and a cattle kraal with over fifty heads of cattle as at February 2021. This ensures that there is a steady supply of beef in the school.
There is a cordial relationship with the Alumni of the school. One intervention the girls have done is to buy branded face masks for all the students on campus and teachers too. They brought hand sanitisers as well as hand washing liquid. All this was to help in the prevention of the spread of CORONA VIRUS. The Alumni have other activities lined up to show their allegiance to the school.
St. Lawrence Girls Secondary School employs both teaching and non teaching staff. And it is also a gender sensitive employer. The school has 11 teachers which includes the Head teacher. It has 14 members of the support staff.
The first national school leaving examination was written in 2002. These pacesetters did so well in their Malawi School Certificate of Education, leaving behind a record that is yet to be beaten. However, that record keeps the other girls to keep on working hard. This has resulted into many girls attaining tertiary education in various University colleges both in the country and outside. This in turn makes the school contribute to the development of the country through these dignified young women as they work in different sectors both private and public. Some of the girls have gone as far as being in the Boards of Directors in some Authorities in the country while others are serious entrepreneurs, employing others in the long run.
Lawrence Parish. This family has established an organization called Chikwawafonds with an aim of directly helping the school in some areas. They have been helping in the science lab, bringing computers in the school as well as sourcing funds for a Solar Power project to be the backup system for power as well.
In a way the family may not be taken as the traditional donors but well wishers who intervene at most critical times. Otherwise it survives on its collection on fees.
Mzimu Woyera Seminary is found in Chikwawa district, close to St Michaels cathedral.
The seminary was established in 1980 with an aim of training boys into priesthood. At its inception, it enrolled 66 students and had classes from Std 6 to Form 4. This has changed over time with classes now begi ning from Form 1 to Form 4.
The seminary has educated over 1716 students. These students are enrolled from parishes within the diocese. The seminary depends on school fees, donations, its alumni, ordinary subsidy from Rome and different agricultural contributions from parishes within the diocese for its operations.
The teaching staff for the institution is made up of the clergy and the laity.
Since its establishment the seminary has had the following as Rector: Fr Louis Mmango, Fr J Mwangeya, Fr Henry Biriwita, Fr Alfeo Boloma, Fr Cleophas Nsambokulira, Fr Valerian Mtseka, Fr Lazarus Maloya and Fr James Chidali.
The current Rector
Founder
Featured News
Wed
28
Jan 2026
The Diocese of Chikwawa will hold celebrations for the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord on Saturday, 31st January 2026. The celebration which joins all men and women who consecrated their lives to serving God, will be done conjointly with the commemoration of Pastoral Missionary Unity, PMU. The Office of the Diocesan Pastoral Secretary announced in a letter dated 17th January 2026. The celebration will be held at St Michael’s Cathedral from 9 AM. All the faithful in the Diocese are encouraged to come.
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Wed
28
Jan 2026
The Secretariat for the mother body of all catholic bishops in Malawi, The Malawi Conference for Catholic Bishops, MCCB, has announced its first plenary meeting for the year 2026. According to the press release from the secretariat, signed by Very Rev Fr Valeriano Mtseka who is the Conference’s Secretary General, the plenary will run from Monday 26th January 2026 to Friday 30th January 2026. The meeting which will draw all members of the Conference, will also be graced by the Apostolic Nuncio to Zambia and Malawi, His Excellency Most Rev GianLuca Perici. Among other things, the plenary will discuss issues on Synod on Synodality, recent developments in all lay catholic movements, progress and status of the Directorates of the Secretariat, priestly formation, among others. The press release concludes by calling upon all Christians to commend the Bishops to the Lord in prayer. The Bishops hold plenary meetings twice a year. This is a platform where the Bishops discus matters to do with the mission of the Church in Malawi and the world.
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Wed
21
Jan 2026
Catholics in the country will this coming Sunday, 25th January 2026, the Third Sunday of Ordinary time, celebrate the word of God during their Eucharistic celebration. This is contained in a communique from the Malawi Conference of Catholic Bishops’ secretariat in Lilongwe. Dated 12th January 2026, and signed by the Very Rev Fr Valeriano Mtseka, the communique calls on all Bible coordinators and parish priests to make preparations so that the day may be celebrated with solemnity and creativity. “The Sunday of the Word of God is dedicated to celebrating, studying, and sharing the importance of sacred scripture in the life of the Church. It highlights the central role of God’s word in our faith and mission, encouraging all the faithful to listen, read, meditate, and live in accordance with scripture. This day offers us an opportunity to renew our relationship with Christ, who speaks to us through His word.” Among the suggested activities to be included in the celebration are; Bible procession, a special display of the Book of the Gospels in Churches, parishes and homes, and communal praying of the “lectio divina” in churches, communities and families. Commenting on the directive, Fr Joseph Gift Chikwapa, the Pastoral Coordinator for the Diocese of Chikwawa, called on all parish priests to consult Fr Alfeo Boloma in case they intent to add more creativity to the celebration for proper guidance. Pope Francis declared The Sunday of the Word of God on 30th September 2019, at the Feast of St Jerome, through his apostolic letter “Aperuit Illis”. He called all believers to deeper engagement with scripture.
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Mon
19
Jan 2026
Choirs in the Diocese will this year celebrate their music talent under the Diocesan Choir Festival in the coming few months. In a written communication from the Diocesan pastoral Coordinator Fr Joseph Gift Chikwapa, the festival will be held in different phases leading to the final. The communication states that there will be an official launch of the festival to be held on 31st January 2026 at St Mathews Nchalo parish, The first phase of the competition will begin in all the parishes on 14th February. The successful choirs will proceed to compete at the deanery level on 14th March 2026. No gifts or awards will be handed out on these two initial levels. The culmination of the festival will be held at Diocesan level on Easter Monday, 4th April at St Mathews Nchalo Parish. A registration fee of MK10,000.00 will be required of all participating choirs. The festival named after the sponsor, Hon Francis Folley, is funded at the total cost of MK10,000,000.00. The final gitfs or awards to be presented are in the following categories. Best perfoming choirs: MK 2,000,000 MK 1,500,000 MK 1,000,000 Mk 1,000,000 (Best performing women choir). Choir conductor MK 70,000 Mk 50,000 MK 30,000 Keyboardist MK 100,000 MK 60,000 MK 40,000 All the choirs that will make it to the final stage will receive Chichewa Catholic hymn books. Each choir is expected to sing two songs: Easter song number 38, and a composition of the song titled: Chifundo cha Mulungu chilibe malire. Hon Francis Folley is a catholic from Our Lady of Fatima Parish. He is member of Parliament for Nsanje North Constituency and Deputy Minister of Education in the current government.
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