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By Sr Mufaro Chakuinga, LCBL - Vatican City

The Catholic Church in Zimbabwe dedicates every year the month of July for prayer and campaigns for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. The catholic faith arrived in this country as far back as the 16th century but real evangelization that shaped the church’s modern presence began in 1879 with the arrival of missionaries of the Society of Jesus also known as the Jesuits. For many years the growing church in Zimbabwe relied mainly on missionaries to spread the gospel, but this trend began to change in the 1930s when the bishops, all of whom were missionaries from Europe, realized that there was need to form the local clergy who would carry forward the mission of the church when missionaries were no longer available.

In 1936 Archbishop Aston Chichester SJ, the head of the Vicariate of Salisbury, now Harare, founded Chishawasha Seminary which initially served as a Minor and Major Seminary. Although in the beginning many young men were not attracted to join the seminary, the bishops continued to encourage them and their parents to respond to God’s call should they feel called. The promotion of vocations became even stronger and a priority when dioceses were created from 1955 onwards. Many young men were admitted to Chishawasha Major Seminary which offered both philosophy and theology courses.

The institution gradually started producing a substantial number of diocesan priests every year. The Church in Zimbabwe, however, experienced a boom of vocations in the 1990s. Chishawasha Major Seminary was no longer able to accommodate all the candidates, and the bishops decided to open St. Augustine Major Seminary in Bulawayo in 2000 to offer courses in philosophy and left Chishawasha to concentrate on theological studies.

Rector of Major Seminary Speaks out

The current Rector of Chishawasha Major Seminary, Fr. Bernard Mukwewa, told Vatican Media recently that after almost a decade the number of enrollments into the two major seminaries began to decline which led the bishops to close St. Augustine Philosophy Seminary in 2016. Since then, the number has continued to decline. Today, Chishawasha Major Seminary which, again, offers both philosophical and theological studies, has a total of just 95 Major Seminarians from the eight catholic dioceses in Zimbabwe.

This year, less that 30 candidates from the various minor seminaries across the country applied to join the major seminary for the first year of philosophy. About 20 were admitted. Fr. Mukwewa said, “this is the first time we have had a number below 100 since the early 90s.” He attributed the current scarcity of vocations to the priesthood to the disintegration of the traditional African family, caused by factors such as poverty which forces family members to migrate in search of employment, migration related to other factors like climate change and conflicts, drug and substance abuse by youths, politics and death. “As a result”, he said, “we have broken families, child headed families and single-parent headed families. The nucleus family is the domestic church from which vocations come. When it breaks down it triggers a wide range of challenges that affect the development of vocations.”

The bishop of Gweru confirms scarcity of vocations to the priesthood

The Bishop of Gweru catholic diocese, the Rt. Rev. Rudolf Nyandoro, in a recent interview with Vatican Media, also confirmed the shortage of vocations to the priesthood in Zimbabwe, including in his diocese, saying that was visible in the low enrolments at the country’s only major seminary. He attributed the scarcity to several factors. He said the decline of the economy in Zimbabwe had led to lack of employment, and this had forced youths to look for survival in activities such as illegal mining.

Other youth have lost hope and resorted to alcohol and drug and substance abuse. “In a situation where youths are exposed to these factors, getting vocations becomes a problem”, he said. Bishop Nyandoro pointed out also that the introduction of Advanced Level or High School certificate, as a requirement for admission to the major seminary, had affected the intakes “because many candidates do not have it.”

Strategies to address the problem

Since the beginning of July priests and members of religious congregations in different dioceses in Zimbabwe are engaged in different vocational promotional activities. Youth are encouraged to discern God’s call and respond positively, while parents are encouraged not to discourage their children from giving themselves to the service of God. Bishop Nyandoro said youth need to be engaged often and for that reason he has established an office to animate them. His diocese has formed campaign teams to visit catholic schools to campaign for vocations and to organize come-and-see workshops.

The church in Zimbabwe is also struggling to retain priests and religious who decide to leave the ministry for various reasons. Bishop Nyandoro said the campaign teams in his diocese would be visiting parishes and religious communities to know the challenges the face and encourage the members to live in a positive way, because it is a big loss to invest in persons for many years and lose them later. The bishop is also encouraging the faithful to pray for vocations. He told Vatican News that he was planning to visit the homes of his priests and seminarians to know their backgrounds and to establish a relationship with their parents and other relatives.

All these approaches, he explained, serve to encourage young Catholics to respond to God’s call. Finally, Bishop Nyandoro invited missionary congregations to send their members to work in his diocese because many of his priests are getting old and will need to be replaced. He needs manpower to promote vocations to the priesthood. He encouraged Vocations Promoters in Zimbabwe not to lose hope in their campaigns because “the Lord who calls is active in and aware of the needs of his church.”

What Catholics say about the shortage of vocations

Many devoted Catholics in Zimbabwe mourn the closure of St. Augustine Major Seminary in Bulawayo, and the dwindling numbers at Chishawasha Major Seminary. Some say the decline in vocations is due to lack of sacrifice and self-giving from young people who are becoming more materialistic, thinking more of what they can get, and not what they can give.

Citing the scandals of some priests and religious women and men who have failed to set good examples, other Catholics say religious life has become irrelevant to many people. “History shows that missionaries who came to Zimbabwe managed to promote vocations to the priesthood without speaking well the local languages, without the Internet, without Facebook or other social media. They managed to attract and promote vocations by their exemplary way of life. There is need, therefore, for priests to live a real Christian life if they are to attract vocations to the priesthood”, said a parishioner.

As the church in Zimbabwe celebrates the vocations month, vocations promoters are appealing to families to teach their children the faith and to live the faith by faithfully carrying out their God-given responsibilities. Faith-driven good examples attract young people to the priesthood because vocations are a function of faith.