New Parish in Dar es Salaam

Saying good-bye to Fr. Eric Wagner launched us into the new year of studies as school resumed after a very short break of less than 2 weeks. But something significant happened…we were awarded a new parish in Dar es Salaam! This is the first new parish that we have secured in the last 10 years. It is a sign of growth!

In early January, I went to Dar es Salaam with Br. Mosses and Joseph Chacha to attend a deaconate celebration, which was the occasion for Archbishop Thaddeus Ruwa’ichi, OFM Cap. to announce that we would begin the ministry of a new Resurrectionist parish.

I was called forward after communion to meet with the Archbishop. He spoke entirely in Swahili, but I knew what he was saying: “Congratulations, Father James. Please inform me about the new pastor as soon as you are able.”

The parish is located in Dar es Salaam in an area known as Nyantila. The name of the parish is Parokia ya Bikira Maria Mtakatifu Mama wa Mungu—Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God Parish. The parish is in an ideal location for us because it is nearby to the Julius Nyerere International Airport in Dar es Salaam.

In consultation with the Archbishop, Fr. Evandro, our Superior General, appointed Fr. Yohana Kachwele, C.R. as the new pastor. Fr. Yohana will be accompanied by Emmanuel Ntula, C.R., who is completing his pastoral year after his theological studies.

We had a celebration to send off Fr. Yohana and Emmanuel. They were very excited and happy to begin this new ministry. However, there will be many challenges as they begin something new.

Last year, I visited the new parish with Fr. Yohana. There is a hall that is used as a church and there is a rectory. The rectory has a kitchen, dining room, living room, and two bedrooms, with another small room for a guest. The plan is to build a “real” church and then use the hall as a community meeting center. People of the parish also want to build a school…so they have many plans! Currently, they have three Masses each Sunday. The first two Masses are regular parish Masses, while the third one is a Children’s Mass.

The people in the new parish are so happy that they “are” their own parish and they seem equally happy that the Resurrectionists have the pastoral leadership in the parish.

As he begins his first experience as a pastor, we gave Fr. Yohana a carving of Jesus, the Good Shepherd.

Of course, what would a celebration be without some ice cream?????

We are very proud of Fr. Yohana. They will miss him at the Blessed Sacrament school where he served as a teacher, chaplain, and administrator.

Fr. Yohana commissioned the carving of a statue of Mary to take to the parish. Four of the postulants are making sure that the statue stays safe! Standing are David and Gervas, and seated are Diof and Saulo.

Br. Mosses helped Fr. Yohana and Emmanuel to move their belongings to Dar es Salaam. He was able to take part in the celebrations of welcome. These two photos are of the original parish from which the new parish was partitioned.

Here is a photo of the rectory, the new home for Fr. Yohana and Emmanuel.

The living room was a place of great activity with the arrival of the new Resurrectionists! And, of course, there was a celebration for everyone in the parish to attend.

One bit of sad news is that one of our dogs, Simba, died this month. We had Simba for about 12 years and she gave birth to many, many puppies over the years. She looked ferocious, but she was a gentle, loving dog. We will miss her.

More to come on www.resurrectionists.ca

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