|
How does it feel to marry again after living together in holy matrimony for 40 years without being on separation for even a single day?
To many, this might sound cryptic or funny or even utter nonsense, but thousands of the Catholic faithful from far and wide, members of other faith communities, invited guests and gate-crushers thronged the precincts of St Pius Parish grounds in Blantyre on Sunday to bear witness to probably the wedding of the millennium when the Patrick and Susan Namphande exchanged marriage vows.
This was a wedding that will probably be remembered for days, weeks and months to come and for the Namphandes, it could as well be the biggest joke of their lives. Perhaps, that was why the organisers, the pint-sized and bashful “parents”, the “ankhoswe”, larger than life flower girls, page boys and the officiating clergy dubbed it the ‘Mock Wedding’.
Other weddings are normally publicised in churches in two or three consecutive weeks to give room for those who may be against it to present their cases to the parish priest or akuluampingo before officiation. This particular wedding took months of announcements before the big day finally came on Sunday, August 29, exactly 40 years after the “newly weds” were wedded!
Yes, this was a wedding par excellence, where there was more than enough for everyone who cared to come. Food and drink (softies and the hard stuff) flowed like manna from heaven after the officiation, which also coincided with the parish’s 40th anniversary celebration. It was a two-pronged celebration with no other than Bishop (Emeritus) Allan Chamgwera, one of the very first and longest serving parish priests at St. Pius, as guest of honour.
This was a celebration and wedding people will remember and joke about for a long time because of the way it was organised, conducted and officiated. In short, it was as serious as it was funny. People brought various gifts, including toilet seats and cisterns.
And when the money was finally collected and counted, it amounted to a whopping K430,000 ($3,981).
“Had it not been for the fast falling darkness, we should have collected not less than a million,” rued Sebastian Chinkhwandwe, chair of the parish council. “But we are not complaining because this was the first time for us to organise such a function. Next time we hold a similar function, we’ll do better groundwork.”
Now, you must be asking why gifts included toilets seats and cisterns and what the Namphandes are going to do with all that money. That’s just the point. The whole hullabaloo was about raising funds for construction of a multipurpose hall at the parish exactly where the madyerero and perekani perekani was taking place!
As St Pius Catholic Parish celebrates 40 years of existence, it is easy for many who have found it already established to take things for granted. Such people may be tempted to think that it has always been the vibrant parish that now enjoys the tag of being the model parish.
The parish has been a model in many respects but the culture of self-help stands out.
According to interviews with those early Christians who were there in the early 60s and have lived to tell the story of St Pius 40 years down the line, it all started with a group of people who were praying in one of the classes at St Pius Primary School.
The late Fr. Andrew Salawanje who was operating from the Bishop’s House at CI, was the first priest and His Grace Archbishop John-Baptist Theunissen SMM later made him resident at St Pius. He was sleeping in the house currently being occupied by the parish cook and was to become the first parish priest and oversaw the process of building the church.
Salawanje did not stay at St Pius long enough to witness the consecration of the church. Although he attended the actual occasion, presided over by Archbishop Theunissen, Fr Allan Chamgwera, now Bishop Emeritus for Zomba Diocese, had become the parish priest.
Bishop Chamgwera is credited for instilling the spirit of self-reliance among the faithful, which has made St Pius the model parish it now is.
In the words of Bishop (Emeritus) Chamgwera: “There is a lot that needs to be done at St Pius. If you believe in yourselves, there is nothing you cannot do. You have everything you need to achieve anything you aspire for.”
|
