By Father Andrew Mukosa, OFM Conv.
Protomartyrs Province (Zambia-Malawi)
Guardian and Parish Priest of St. Joseph Mission Lufwanyama
St. Joseph Mission and Parish is in the Copperbelt province of Zambia, about 200 Km from Kitwe. St. Joseph is a rural parish with a population of about 12,000 Catholics. For easier administration, the Parish is divided into nine zones and has 36 outstations (churches). The furthest outstation is about a four-hour drive from the main center of St. Joseph Parish. Other outstations are in different directions and varying distances. St. Joseph Parish has four priest-friars assigned to it – two serve as assistant pastors. Together, we schedule the priest-friar who will be celebrating the Eucharist at the various outstations and the main Parish Church. Each outstation gets the privilege of having Mass once a month. However, the closest churches are sometimes privileged to have Mass regularly. Since the terrain and the roads to these other rural missions are rough and full of potholes, we suspend going for Mass to these places when the roads become impassable. This creates a deep longing in the hearts of the people, who, by faith, depend on Mass to receive the blessings of God.
People also walk for long distances to attend our Masses in the outstations; some people reach their respective outstations and spend the night in the Church waiting for the priest to arrive the next morning. This is how much the Eucharistic Celebration means to them. They offer petitions for their families, their health, and for good rains since most of them are peasant farmers. When we celebrate Mass it is a good celebration. They dance with joy, as depicted on my Facebook pages, (Chewe Mukosa the Social Teacher) and they offer their first fruits from their farms such as corn, groundnuts, and vegetables as well as village chickens in gratitude for what God has done for them. Once, after some years, we may receive the Bishop of Ndola diocese where we are located as a rural parish. In such instances, our Catholic Christians come for some days and wait for the Bishop at the main center church, St. Joseph Parish and Mission. Last year, 2023, was such an occasion, and about 200 of our young ones were given the Sacrament of Confirmation by Bishop Benjamin Phiri.
Indeed, we have great struggles with our shortage of priests. The four of us are just too few for the 36 outstations that we must attend to. Due to the long distances and poor road conditions, visiting the sick to administer the Eucharist and perform the Anointing of the Sick at various outstations proves to be very challenging. The Mission at St. Joseph has only one vehicle, an old Nissan that has seen better days. Because of the situation of the roads, it is being fixed almost daily. It is the same vehicle that sometimes takes people to the town hospital, and, at times, it takes the dead for burial regardless of their religious affiliation. Thanks for listening to my story and my lamentations and joys as I happily participate in the Mission of Jesus to evangelize the people of Lufwanyama district.
