Category: News

On May 3, 2025, the Catholic Diocese of Mzuzu welcomed its new shepherd, Bishop Yohane Suzgo Nyirenda, in a ceremony marked by great jubilation and celebration.

The installation ceremony drew people from all walks of life, including political leaders, who gathered to witness the historic event.

The ceremony was witnessed by Archbishop George Desmond Tambala of the Archdiocese of Lilongwe and other priests who signed to approve and witness the installation of Bishop Nyirenda as the new bishop of the Mzuzu Diocese.

The Apostolic Nuncio to Malawi and Zambia, Archbishop Gian Luca Perici, urged the faithful of the Mzuzu Diocese to pray for their newly installed bishop.

“Always pray for the bishop for his role, not only a day, but each day,” he emphasized.

Archbishop Perici encouraged the faithful to continually pray for their new bishop, that he may be guided and strengthened in his ministry.

His Excellency Perici also extended his best wishes to the retiring Bishop of Mzuzu Diocese, Bishop John Ryan, for his future endeavors.

Bishop Ryan thanked the faithful of the diocese for their support during his tenure and encouraged them to work closely with Bishop Nyirenda to ensure the continued growth and development of the diocese.

His Lordship expressed his gratitude for the trust and cooperation he received from the clergy, religious, and lay faithful.

In his speech, President of the Malawi Conference of Catholic Bishops (MCCB), Bishop Martin Mtumbuka, praised the retiring Bishop Ryan for his dedication and service he rendered to the diocese.

“Bishop Ryan was a strong defender of the environment and always made decisions that considered the less privileged,” he said.

Bishop Mtumbuka also called upon priests to avoid participating in partisan politics.

In his remarks, the newly installed Bishop Yohane Nyirenda thanked Bishop Ryan for his dedication and zeal during his ministry as the bishop of the Mzuzu Diocese.

Bishop Nyirenda also called for collaboration with priests and emphasized the importance of working together in order to develop the diocese of Mzuzu.

His Lordship Nyirenda was ordained priest on July 19, 2008. He was appointed as Auxiliary Bishop of the Mzuzu Diocese on May 5, 2023, and later appointed as the bishop of the diocese by Pope Francis on April 1, 2025.

By Titus Jata Phiri

The Centre for agricultural transformation (CAT), has expressed satisfaction with the results realized from the interventions the organization is implementing with its stakeholders on smart agriculture where smallholder farmers in the country are being encouraged to diversify and adopt climate resilient crops.

CAT Executive Director, Macleod Nkhoma, says for the past five years the organization has been working on the concept, some farmers have now started rejoicing over bumper yields after embracing smart agriculture practices.

Today, the organization showcased various modern farming technologies to about two thousand farmers from selected districts in all regions of the country, during a farmer field day under the theme ‘‘climate-resilient agricultural technologies and crop diversification for sustainable food security” at its NRC Smart-Farm in Lilongwe, so that farmers should emulate the same at their respective fields.

“Smart agriculture, you start looking at the condition of the soils. You want to start there, that the soils are in a condition that crops can grow well. But also, the other thing is that smart agriculture looks at having diversified crops that our farmers can produce. The reason for that is that in case one of the crops fails, at least they will have something from another crop,” Nkhoma emphasized.

“We have got weather stations here. We call them ground sensors. These ones give us information, agricultural information, that is very important for crop production, but also the other thing about smart agriculture is that you’ve seen here we have irrigation facilities to ensure that in case there is some drought, we can still irrigate. And so, the ground sensors will send us information that the soil’s moisture has dropped at a certain level and our technicians will trigger the irrigation to actually irrigate the crops,” he added.

Deputy director responsible for field crops in the ministry of Agriculture, Osborne Tsoka, expressed hopes that the country can alleviate hunger if farmers can embrace modern farming technologies.

‘’when it comes to maize, they’re getting barely below around 2.3 metric tons per hectare. But when you look at the technologies that are being showcased here, we are getting the yields as high as 8 metric tons per hectare,’’ Tsoka hoped.

The vice president and Country Director for Global Action to end smoking through the Agricultural Transformation Initiative (ATI), Dr. Candida Nakhumwa, the funding partners for the Project, expressed her impression with the progress that has been made in as far as diversifying farmers to stop relying only on Tobacco as their cash crop is concerned.

’’as you have seen on the field, they’ve diversified into oil seed crops, especially soya beans and groundnuts. And for soyabeans, what we’ve seen is that it has readily available domestic market, as we see an increase in the need for fish feeds, livestock feeds in general,” Nakhumwa explained.

Nakhumwa then disclosed their continued partnership with CAT as they are also looking to help farmers compete on the international market through value addition.

“We have built the Centre for Agricultural Transformation. And the idea is that we want to bring in an element of value addition. We want to bring in an element where farmers or entrepreneurs that would like to venture into value addition, and so we’ve assisted to begin to understand, how do I process peanut butter? How do I process cooking oil? Before they engage with the Malawi Bureau of Standards, we want them to be at the lab here, where the costs are slightly lower. They should test their products, and then the engagement with the Malawi Bureau of Standards comes at the end,” she added.

Emanuel Yendemani Mwale from Madzo cooperative in Madisi, praised CAT for the knowledge saying now they are realizing bountiful yields since they started using smart agriculture technologies.

The Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe today officially launched Bishop Patrick Kalilombe Catholic High School, which is owned by the Association of the Diocesan Catholic Clergy of Lilongwe (ADCCOL).

The launch took place today at the school’s premises in Nambuma, Dowa district.

Archbishop George Desmond Tambala of the Lilongwe Archdiocese presided over the official opening Mass and the blessing of the school, formerly known as Answer Private Academy.

The school has been named in honor of the first Malawian Bishop of the Diocese of Lilongwe, Patrick Kalilombe, to commemorate his legacy, which emphasized a self-reliant church as he initiated the first synod of Mpingo ndife tonse.

Archbishop Tambala commended the priests of ADCCOL for taking on the role of providing quality education to the country, in addition to offering spiritual well-being to the faithful.

His Grace disclosed that the school will now be operated by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Mombasa on behalf of the Archdiocese of Lilongwe.

ADCCOL representative Father Augustine Katundu commended the parish priests in the archdiocese for offering financial support during the process of purchasing the school and specifically mentioned Fr. Louis Chikanya, Fr. Charles Phiri, Fr. Francis Lekaleka, Fr. Khembo, and Fr. Mtapaonga for their dedication to the project.

Former board chairperson of the school, Mr. Mnewa, confirmed that all necessary procedures were followed and assured the public that the school now belongs to ADCCOL.

Mr. Mnewa believes the Catholic Church will help to fulfill the vision of the former director, David Eleazor Dymon, which is to assist the community and the country at large by providing quality education.

The Central East Education Division Principal Quality Assurance Officer, Andrew Mkomba, mentioned that the government expects the school to continue to be among the top private schools in the district in terms of learners’ performance during MSCE examinations, as well as student discipline.

Mkomba also commended the Catholic Church for being part and parcel of uplifting education standards in the country, acknowledging that the government cannot manage everything on its own.

A student representative expressed belief that the school will help them become outstanding students by receiving the most desirable education as they expect to be trained to value hard work and respect for the Lord.

Senior Chief Kayembe of the area urged the students to work hard, emphasizing that education is key to success.

She conveyed her excitement that the school is located in her area, believing that the area will be transformed.

Bishop Patrick Kalilombe Catholic High School is located 20 kilometers from Kamuzu International Airport via the M’bang’ombe road and 11 kilometers from Chimwanza Trading Centre, off the Nambuma turn-off.

The auxiliary bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe, Right Reverend Vincent Mwakhwawa, today led the Easter Mass celebrations at Our Lady of Holy Rosary (Likuni) Parish, delivering a powerful message urging the faithful to embody the transformative power of Jesus Christ’s resurrection in their everyday lives.

In his homily, Bishop Mwakhwawa emphasized the opportunity for spiritual rebirth that Easter provides.

“Easter has renewed us. Easter has brought a renewal in our life. We have an opportunity to start again,” he said, highlighting the redemptive nature of Christ’s sacrifice.

His Lordship underscored how sin creates a disconnect with God, disrupts life’s order, and contributes to the myriad problems facing the world.

“Most of the problems that we have in the world and in Malawi are because somebody somewhere is not doing his job very well because he’s been overtaken by evil.”

The bishop stressed that the Lenten season and Holy Week commemorations offer a chance for personal renewal, empowering individuals to strive for better with the strength of Christ.

“Now we have been given a chance to do things very well with the power of Christ. That is the most important thing,” he affirmed.

Addressing various aspects of life, Bishop Mwakhwawa called for Christ to be the central guiding force, inspiring and directing individuals towards ethical conduct.

“Whether you are a farmer, whether you are a civil servant, whether you’re doing business, whether in private sector, in the church, we need Christ to be our centre of life. We need Christ to help us do well in life. We need him to inspire us. We need him to guide us. He’s risen,” Bishop Mwakhwawa concludes.

Echoing the Bishop’s sentiments, the first vice chairperson at Likuni Parish, Mr. Patrick Liphava, emphasized the fundamental importance of the resurrection in the Catholic faith.

“Today is a great day. It’s a holy day. It has been so beautiful with the homily of the bishop, the auxiliary bishop of the Lilongwe Archdiocese. He has taught us that as Catholics our faith is based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and if Jesus Christ was not risen then I think our faith is baseless. So, our faith is totally based on the resurrection of Jesus Christ and therefore we also believe that when we die, after our death, we shall also resurrect and live on.”

The event brought together parishioners to celebrate the day together.

By Eric Mkwaira

Christians at Guilleme Parish in Mchinji came together for a profound journey of self-reflection, prayer, and commemoration of the suffering of Jesus Christ during the Way of the Cross.

The spiritual procession, which began at St. Robert Outstation in Tembwe and concluded at Guilleme Parish drew Christians from all Outstations under the Parish, who symbolically experienced Christ’s journey to the cross and his ultimate sacrifice.

The spiritual procession, which began at St. Robert Outstation in Tembwe and concluded at Guilleme Parish

The spiritual procession, which began at St. Robert Outstation in Tembwe and concluded at Guilleme Parish

The spiritual procession, which began at St. Robert Outstation in Tembwe and concluded at Guilleme Parish

As part of the celebration of the Passion of the Lord, Archbishop George Desmond Tambala of the Archdiocese of Lilongwe urged the faithful to use Good Friday as a powerful tool for their spiritual growth and salvation.

The Archbishop, emphasized the significance of the day in Christian life, calling for deep reflection and commitment to faith.

“Today is an important day for Christians in their spiritual life. They should reflect on their faith, examine their conscience, repent for their sins, and engage in intense prayer as we remember that Jesus Christ died for us on the cross,” Archbishop Tambala stated.

Despite the challenges presented by the rainy weather, the faithful remained steadfast in their devotion.

The Archbishop praised the Christians for their unwavering commitment to their Catholic faith and dedication to spiritual renewal.

“I commend the Christians here at Guilleme Parish for their resilience in their faith. They gathered in large numbers, and despite the rain, no one showed any sign of turning away,” he added.

prostration: the abasement of “earthly man,” the grief and sorrow of the Church, and a solemn remembrance of Christ’s suffering and death

The veneration of the cross

The vice-chairperson of the parish committee, Cosmas Phiri, expressed heartfelt gratitude to the Archbishop for gracing them with his presence, acknowledging that his visit strengthened their faith and encouraged the Christian community.

The Way of the Cross procession, a solemn reenactment of Jesus Christ’s journey to Calvary, provided an opportunity for reflection and prayer, reinforcing the essence of Good Friday, a day of sacrifice, redemption, and renewed faith.

By Titus Jata Phiri

The Archbishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Lilongwe, His Grace George Desmond Tambala has emphasized the importance of prayer for the nation as Malawi prepares for elections this coming September.

His Grace made the plea today, 15th April 2025 at Maula Cathedral after Chrism Mass.

Archbishop Tambala highlighted the need for spiritual intervention to foster good leadership, combat corruption, address social development challenges, and ensure peaceful elections in September.

“The house we are trying to build here is Malawi, in terms of economic and social development issues, as well as leadership issues. We pray that God will give us a good leader and that come September, we will have peaceful elections,” His Grace explained.

In his remarks, Chairperson of the laity council of the Archdiocese, Mr. Patrick Liphava, stressed the responsibility of the laity to coordinate efforts among Christians, including those in Small Christian Communities, to ensure they pray with the intention of achieving peace as the elections approach.

“As the Laity, we need to coordinate all Christians from family to Small Christian Community up to parish level to make sure that we have a focused intention to pray for peace in this country,” said Liphava.

Malawi will hold the Tripartite Elections on 16 September this year, to elect new office bearers in the office of the President, Members of Parliament as well as Ward Councilors.

By Monica Chinyama