Zimbabwe: Arts festival for Catholic Schools empowers young people to be agents of evangelization.
Br. Alfonce Kugwa – Gweru.
The arts festival which was held from 21 to 24 March 2024 ran under the theme: “Pupils as agents of evangelization through arts.”
Pupils as agents of evangelization through arts
The purpose of the arts festival is to cement the relationship of Catholic schools, reinforce Catholic ethos, and nurture the learners’ talents in arts and spiritual maturity. Education Secretary for Catholic Schools in Gweru Diocese, Fr. Augustin Chirikadzi, said the Inter Catholic Secondary Schools Arts Festival popularly known as CASSA was meant to promote and recognise young people as the Church of today and tomorrow.
“Evangelization started before education, and education becomes a component of evangelization. So, this is how learners evangelize and how they bring the Gospel message of Christ to each other as they interact through the arts. It is evangelizing and bringing the living Christ to one another,” said Fr. Chirikadzi.
He added that his Diocese of Gweru holds the arts festival annually as a way of instilling the Catholic identity and family spirit among Church schools within his realm.
Synod on Synodality themes through song
The festival which was also attended by Gweru Diocese Bishop, Rudolf Nyandoro, saw learners competing in arts disciplines such as music, drama, public speaking, quiz, Spelling Bee, poetry, darts, and table tennis. The apex of the fiesta was the highly contested musical extravaganza which not only sought to prove the best choir but helped to improve the learner’s grasp of the Synodal message as the competition song was tailored from the theme of the Synod which encourages the church to enlarge its tent to accommodate all.
Schools that participated in this year’s festival include Loreto, Gonawapotera, Lalapanzi, Driefontein, Shungu, Regina Mundi, St. Kizito Musilahobe, St. Xavier Simangani, St. Joseph’s Hama, Holy Cross, Serima and Chikwingwizha. Only Maryward and Sacred Heart schools failed to make it to Serima this year.
Festival closed with Palm Sunday celebration
Bishop Nyandoro closed the festival with the Palm Sunday celebration where he thanked the organisers for bringing the learners together for the festival so that they advance their talents in different arts disciplines. He also thanked the teachers for supporting the children and developing their talents that will benefit them in the future while he appreciated the participants for dedicating their time to practice and taking part in the event.
In his Palm Sunday homily, the prelate of Gweru, encouraged the learners to remain focused and to desist from the sin of taking drugs or bullying others.
“Let it be our prayer that Christ protects us from the dangers of theft, drugs, bullying, corruption, and robberies,” said Bishop Nyandoro as he reminded the learners to respect each other’s dignity.
All young persons are equal before God
The Bishop reiterated that the reason of their coming together should remind them that they are all equal before God.
The overall results for the CASSA competition saw Shungu High School coming tops followed by Serima on number 2.
The CASSA festivals are held annually in Gweru Diocese to promote collegiality among Catholic schools and to ensure that no school is left behind in terms of value education.
(Newspack – Zimbabwe)
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