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Bishops, in union with and in subordination to the Pope, serve the people of their own dioceses with ordinary jurisdiction and authority. They also have, in collegiate manner with the Pope and with each other, concern and efforts for the general welfare of the whole Church. The Zimbabwean Bishops form, as their coordinating body, the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC), which was constituted by Roman Decree on 1 October 1969
Bishop Paul Horan
On 28 May 2016 he was appointed Bishop of Mutare and on 27 Aug 2016 ordained. Bishop Horan is of the Carmelite Congregation.
He is the President of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference and Chairman of the Social Communications Commission and Commission for Ecumenism and Inter-religious Dialogue. Bishop Horan is the Secretary and Treasurer of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
Bishop Emeritus Scholz Dieter
Dieter B. Scholz SJ was appointed as the Bishop of Chinhoyi by Pope Benedict XVI on 7 March 2006 and was ordained on 2 September 2006. He retired on 17 Feb 2016.
Bishop Raphael Macebo Mabuza Ncube
Bishop Raphael Macebo Mabuza Ncube was appointed as the Bishop of Hwange Diocese on 5 July 2021. His episcopal ordination was on 30 October 2021.
Bishop Ncube is the ZCBC Chairman for the Pastoral Centre.
Archbishop Alex Thomas Kaliyanil
Archbishop Alex Thomas is the Archbishop of Bulawayo.
He is a member of the Divine Word Missionaries from India and was appointed Archbishop on 20 June 2009, ordained and installed at Bulawayo on 12 September 2009.
He is the Vice President of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference and Chairman of Caritas Zimbabwe, Refugees, Migrants, Health Commission, and HIV and AIDS Desk.
Bishop Rodolph Nyandoro
Bishop Rudolf Nyandoro was appointed on 28 Jan 2017 and on 29 Apr 2017 ordained as bishop of Gokwe.
He is a chairman of Education and Culture Commission, Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office.
Bishop Raymond Tapiwa Mupandasekwa CSsR.
Bishop of Chinhoyi Diocese.
Appointed 30 December 2017 by His Holiness Pope Francis, Biushop Mupandasekwa was ordained on 7 April 2018 at Chinhoyi University of Technology.
Prior to his appointment, Bishop Mupandasekwa was the Regional Superior of the Redemptorist Congregation in Zimbabwe.
Bishop Mupandasekwa is the Chairman for Commission for Clergy, Religious and Vocations and the Pontifical Mission Societies.
Bishop Emeritus Alexio Muchabaiwa
Bishop Alexio succeeded Donal Lamont OCarm as bishop of Mutare.
He was appointed on the 27 of November 1981, ordained and installed on 21 February 1982, and retired on 28 May 2016.
The Late Bishop Emeritus Angelo Floro Martínez
He was appointed Bishop of Gokwe on 15 October 1999, ordained and installed at Gokwe on 19 February 2000.
On 28 January 2017 he retired. He died on 23 March 2023.
Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu
Archbishop Ndlovu is the head of the Archdiocese of Harare.
He was ordained Bishop of Hwange on 9 May 1999, appointed Archbishop of Harare on 10 June 2004 and installed Archbishop of Harare on 21 August 2004.
He is the current President of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference and Chairman of the National Marriage Tribunal.
OUR BISHOPS
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THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN ZIMBABWE
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BRIEF HISTORY
The first attempt to evangelise Zimbabwe was made in the sixteenth century by the Jesuit Father Goncalo da Silveira of Portugal. His mission was very short lived as he was martyred on 16 March 1561 near the present boarder with Mozambique, not far from Tete. Next came the Dominican Fathers who established themselves south of the Zambezi and remained until 1775. The Dominicans tried to influence King Munhumutapa himself, but they succeeded in taking some of his sons. The first was Miguel whom they educated, trained and ordained a priest in Goa. He was the first black Zimbabwean to become a Catholic priest. He also obtained a doctorate in Theology. He died and was buried in Goa. The Dominicans took two other sons of Munhumutapa whom they trained as priests, Fr. Constantio and his brother Fr. Joao, as they travelled to Lisbon, one died at the start of the voyage and the other died in the city of Bahia in Brazil. However the local community in Munhumutapa Kingdom did not seem to have a strong community of faith of the new religion.
The Jesuits made a second attempt and returned in 1607 and remained till 1759. After 1775 all catholic missionary work ceased in Zimbabwe until 1879 when catholic priests once again entered Zimbabwe, this time coming from South Africa and not through Mozambique like before. The Jesuit Fathers and the Dominican Sisters returned with the Pioneer Column and established Chishawasha Mission in 1891 and the Dominican Convent School in 1892 in Harare. Prior to these institutions, the very first Catholic Mission was established by Fr. Prestage SJ at Empandeni Mission near Plumtree in 1887. It is said that King Lobengula of the Ndebele said to Fr. Prestage SJ: “Go to Empandeni and teach the people there.” (O'Reilly, J., 'The Centenary of Empandeni”, 1987, p.4).The original Zambezi Mission of the Catholic Church, which included part of Zambia, was entrusted to the Jesuit Fathers by Rome on 7 February 1879. In 1930 the Bulawayo area was given to the German Marianhill Missionaries, who had previously worked in Manicaland from 1908-1930; in 1946 the Fort Victoria area, now Masvingo, which became Gweru diocese was committed to the Swiss Bethlehem Fathers; in 1953 the Mutare area was confided to the Irish Carmelite Fathers and Hwange area to the Spanish Mission Institute. On 1 January 1955, by Papal Bull, the Ecclesiastical Province of Southern Rhodesia was set up. Today Zimbabwe has 8 dioceses, 12 Bishops including the retired ones, many religious congregations of men and women and show many signs of a growing local Church blessed with local priests, religious, catechists and hundreds of lay leaders.