Featured News
More News
Wed
2
Apr 2025
Atleast 1816 households in Chikwawa and Nsanje districts will afford a to buy food and other basic needs following a social cash transfer program that the Catholic Development Commission of the Diocese of Chikwawa is implementing. Following the declaration by the State President Dr Lazarus Chakwera of the state of the emergency in the country due to droughts and other natural disasters, the Diocese of Chikwawa through its social and development arm, CADECOM, secured funding to help families that have been affected by hunger. Speaking at the beginning of the exercise, Fr Mathews Semba who is the Director for the Social Services Directorate, thanked the donors who responded positively to the Diocesan request. He further called on the beneficiaries to make the best use of the monetary assistance to ease their problems. CADECOM has assisted the families with funding from the Scottish government through the Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund (SCIAF). Each household has been assisted with One Hundred Thousand Malawi Kwacha.
Read More →
Tue
1
Apr 2025
The Malawi Conference of Catholic Bishops (MCCB) has today 1st April 2025, announced that Bishop Yohane Suzgo Nyirenda, the Auxiliary Bishop of Mzuzu, has been appointed as Bishop of Mzuzu Diocese. According to the communication from the Catholic Secretariat in Lilongwe, singed by Very Rev Fr Valeriano Mtseka, Secretary General of the Conference, Pope Francis has made the appointment following Bishop John Ryan’s request to the Holy Father to retire as he has reached the canonical age to do so. Meanwhile, the conference has further communicated that the installation of Rt Rev Yohane Suzgo Nyirenda as bishop of Mzuzu Diocese, will be held on 3rd May 2025 at St Peters Cathedral from 9:00 am. The function will be presided over by the Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency, Most Rev. GianLuca Peric. Bishop Nyirenda was born on 20th June 1976 in Mzimba District. He was ordained a priest in July 2008. on 5th May 2023, Pope Francis appointed him as Auxiliary Bishop of Mzuzu Diocese.
Read More →
Thu
27
Mar 2025
The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace, this week conducted a 4 day training for Gender Champions at Mpemba, Malawi School of Government, bringing together the champions and key stakeholders to strengthen the fight against Gender-Based Violence (GBV) within the Shire Valley Transformation Program catchment area. The training run from Monday, 24th March to Thursday 27th March 2025. The training aimed to equip Gender Champions with the knowledge and tools to effectively identify, document, and respond to GBV cases in their communities. Addressing the trainees, The Director for the Social Services Directorate for the Diocese of Chikwawa, Fr Mathews Alan Semba emphasized the importance of this refresher training for the Gender Champions and that the knowledge and skills being reinforced must be applied in real life situations to help mitigate GBV in communities affected by the Shire Valley Transformation Project He further stressed that ending GBV in these affected communities starts with the commitment and proactive efforts of the Gender Champions as they are the first responders and advocators in their localities Stakeholders from the Social Welfare Office, Police Victim Support Unit, Judiciary, Gender Office, and Chikwawa Hospital’s One Stop Centre joined the sessions, and shared insights on GBV case management, legal frameworks, and survivor support services. The training was interactive, with practical exercises, case studies, and discussions on the Terms of Reference (TORs), Code of Conduct, self-care for Gender Champions, and action planning for sustained impact.
Read More →
Tue
18
Mar 2025
The Fundraising committee of the Diocese of Chikwawa has held an interface meeting with priests and lay leaders from Mbusa Wabwino Nsanje Parish as they prepare for the upcoming Diocesan fundraiser. The meeting took place on Sunday 16th March 2025 at Nsanje Parish. The purpose of the meeting was for the Diocesan committee to establish cooperation linkage with priests and lay leaders from Nsanje, where it has been earmarked as the place for Diocesan Easter Bash to raise funds meant to pay for major seminarians school fees. Through the Chairperson of the Committee, Mr Ben Ndengunda, the committee unveiled the plan for the bash which included the date and activities that were lined up. As the deliberations went on, it was clear that Nsanje parish felt there was little time for preparations and also considering their hunger situation. At the end of the day, delegates to the meeting agreed that Diocesan Easter bash will take place in August, at a date to be decided later. The delegates estimated a target of 10 million kwacha to be realized from the bash with 3 Million Kwacha as the initial capital. Addressing the delegates, Mr Ndeguma, thanked the parish priest for Nsanje and his parishioners for accepting to host the fundraiser. He called on them to be committed and start preparation immediately and called on the need for them to be of united purpose. The Diocese of Chikwawa constituted the fundraising committee and commissioned them to initiate fundraising activities in order to respond to different needs of the Diocese. The committee successfully held their first fundraiser last year as they conducted dinner and dance and realized 20 million Kwacha.
Read More →
Tue
18
Mar 2025
Priests from the Diocese of Chikwawa are this week convening for their yearly spiritual exercise, the annual retreat. The spiritual retreat is taking place at Namtipwiri Pastoral Centre in Blantyre. Guided under the theme “What are you looking for?,” John 1:38, the retreat is being attended by all priests in the Diocese. The aim of the five day retreat is to offer priests an opportunity to withdraw in prayer and have time to pray for themselves and their mission. The retreat will run from Monday, 17th March 2025 to Friday, 21st March 2025. Fr Paul Nkolombidzo from the Archdiocese of Blantyre is the facilitator. The annual retreat is a spiritual exercise funded by the Diocese as one of the ways through which the Diocese takes care of the spiritual needs of its pastors.
Read More →
Sat
15
Mar 2025
The Diocese of Chikwawa, through the Education Commission of the Social Services Directorate, has today awarded education institutions that have recorded success in the previous National examinations. The award ceremony started with Eucharistic celebration led by His Lordship Peter Musikuwa, Bishop of the Diocese. In his homily during the Eucharistic celebration, Bishop Musikwa, guided by the readings of the day reminded all especially key players in education, including students and teachers the importance of knowing and following rules and laws that govern the delivery of quality education. “If you follow the rules of your life as students and teachers, you shall be successful. What we celebrate today is a fruit of this practice. In the end we shall be agents of evangelization because the conversion shown through the new way of doing things will be of interest and a motivation for others” Said Bishop Musikuwa. The ceremony which has been partly sponsored by Centenary bank had three categories; Best performing head teacher, three best performing primary schools and three best performing secondary schools. In the Best performing head teacher Mr Christopher Nansenya, Who was head teacher at Chikumba Primary school, emerged the winner. In best primary schools Bereu Primary, St Mathew’s primary and Chikumba primary schools in ascending order got rewarded. St Michaels CDSS from Chikwawa won the ultimate prize in the secondary school category beating Nkhate CDSS who came second and Mzimu Woyera Seminary on third position. The ceremony was attended by both teachers and student from different catholic schools in the Diocese. The awards ceremony was started by the education Commission as one way of motivating teachers and students to work hard in a bid to lift education standards in the Diocese. Two weeks ago, the Commission gathered teachers from catholic secondary schools in the Diocese to equip them with techniques to be imparted as students on how best they can answer questions during Maneb examinations to improve results in these schools.
Read More →
Thu
13
Mar 2025
Schools that had been ordered to suspend classes due to cyclone Jude, resume classes today 13th March 2025. The order is communicated in a public notice released by the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education. “The Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education is pleased to inform the general public, and in particular students, parents and guardians, that following updates and recommendations by the Department of Climate change and Meteorological Services, classes for Primary and secondary schools will reopen on Thursday 13th March 2025. The cyclone is now leaving the country and its effects having significantly diminished.” Read the notice. This order goes to all districts and education divisions that had been ordered to suspend classes as they were affected by cyclone. Signed by Rachel Chimbwete Phiri, Secretary for Basic and Secondary Education, the Ministry has however given the Lower shire valley districts of Nsanje and Chikwawa autonomy to decide on the reopening schools depending on their local situation. Schools in these districts are likely to delay reopening as evidenced by videos and photos on social media, of school blocks that are surrounded by flooding waters, in Nchalo for example. Schools in the Southern part of the country had been suspended earlier this week in response to the tropical cyclone Jude that was likely to affect districts in the region.
Read More →
Mon
10
Mar 2025
Pastoral agents and other key leaders of different lay groups in Nsanje deanery held a meeting on Saturday 8th March 2025 to strategize on different aspects of its mission. The meeting took place at St Kalemba parish Bangula drawing participants from all the members of the clergy, sisters, representative for the laity, youth, Catholic Men Association, Catholic Women Association, Pontifical Mission Societies, choir, Christian Family Movement and catechists serving in the deanery. During the meeting, deanery leadership was introduced to all members. Among the agenda items was the Jubilee year where participants were taught on its history, logo and its symbolism and also events that are lined up to mark the year. Speaking during the meeting, Fr Patrick Jambo who is parish priest for St Kalemba parish and dean of Nsanje deanery, to optimize the Jubilee year in seeking reconciliation and forgiveness. “A Jubilee year as a year of spiritual conversion, a year of celebration where people reconcile and begin anew. A year to be filled with joy” Remarked Fr Jambo. On his part, Mr John Nyaika, Diocesan Laity chairperson lauded the Jubilee year as a time to rebuild and refresh hope in God. Pope Francis announced the Jubilee year on 24th December 2024 and it will run to 6th January 2026. Later in the day, participants held discusions to have an action plan, on the welfare of priests and preparations for ordination to priesthood later this year. Nsanje deanery is made of Nsanje Parish, Tengani parish, St Kalemba and Ngabu parish.
Read More →
Mon
10
Mar 2025
Following the announcement of an impending cyclone Jude, forecasted by the Department of Climate Change and Meteorological Services, the Ministry of Higher Education has issued a directive suspending all classes in the affected districts. The suspension is from Monday 10th March to Thursday 13th March 2025, depending on further updates. Dr Lewis Keliyasi Eneya, who is the Director for Higher Education, signed the directive, stating that this is a precautionary measure to avoid exposing both teachers and students or leaners to any dangers. The Department for Climate Change and Meteorological Services on Saturday 8th March released an update on weather warming on an imminent tropical storm Jude. The warning stated that the storm will land in the Southern Malawi on Monday 10th March 20205, expecting to bring rainfall in the affected districts. Until now, the progress of the storm has remained true to the forecast with the recent update announcing the landing of the storm in Mozambique. The affected districts are Balaka, Zomba, Mangochi, Machinga, Mulanje, Phalombe, Thyolo, Chiradzulu, Nsanje, Chikwawa, Blantyre, Neno, Mwanza, Ntcheu, Dedza and Salima. The Diocese of Chikwawa whose area of jurisdiction covers Chikwawa, Nsanje, parts of Blantrye and Thyolo expects to experience the cyclone. This area is one of the regions that is most affected by such climatic conditions.
Read More →