Scarcity of vocations to the priesthood

By
Sr
Mufaro
Chakuinga,
LCBL
–
Vatican
City

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.