Archbishop Rugambwa visits Namibia and Botswana

Sr Phatsimo Veronica Ramokgwebana –Gaborone, Botwsana.

Ordination of new Bishop of Keetmanshoop in Namibia

The 12-days-visit began in Namibia where Archbishop Rugambwa ordained Willem Christiaans, as the new Bishop of Keetmanshoop.  Bishop Christiaans is the former National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Namibia.  In his homily at the episcopal ordination, Archbishop Rugambwa reminded the new Bishop that the effectiveness and fruitfulness of his ministry would always depend on his relationship with God.

Learning more about the life of the Church within the two mission countries

Archbishop Peter Wells, the Apostolic Nuncio to Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho and Namibia accompanied Archbishop Rugambwa on his visits. Upon arrival in Botswana, Archbishop Rugambwa held a meeting with the College of Consultors in the Diocese of Gaborone. The College of Consultors are advisors who assist Bishop Frank Nubuasah S.V.D., in the administration of the diocese. Bishop Nubuasah, the Bishop of Francistown, is also the current Apostolic Administrator of the vacant Diocese of Gaborone.

Later, Archbishop Rugambwa described his visit to the two countries as exposure to learning more about the life of the Church within the two mission countries. He sought to encourage the great work of evangelization that still lies ahead. The visit also offered the Congregation of the Evangelization of Peoples an opportunity to acknowledge the achievements reached in these mission countries and to witness first-hand the challenges facing the various pastoral agents, including Catechists and lay leaders. Furthermore, the visit was a sign of the closeness and solidarity with the universal Church in which the Holy Father’s office directs and coordinates mission work and cooperation.

Meetings with various pastoral agents

During the visit, Archbishop Rugambwa held two separate meetings with Catechists and Religious Superiors of the Diocese of Gaborone. Speaking to the Catechists, the Archbishop affirmed the Catholic Church in the Diocese of Gaborone as a well-established institution. He, nevertheless, indicated that there is still much that needed to be done in the diocese itself and beyond.

As a way of ending his two-day visit to the Diocese of Gaborone, Archbishop Rugambwa, paid a courtesy call on St. Joseph’s College, Kgale where he met with the Bishop Emeritus of Gaborone, Boniface Tshosa Setlalekgosi.

Archbishop Rugambwa wound-up his visit to Gaborone with a public Mass celebrated at Christ the King Cathedral. The next day he proceeded to Maun, the tourist capital of Botswana, which falls under the Diocese of Francistown where concluded his pastoral visit and returned to Rome.