At Spiritan Priest’s Funeral Mass in Tanzania, Archbishop Advocates for Disease Prevention Culture in Africa

Arusha, 22 August, 2025 / 10:05 PM

Archbishop Isaac Amani Massawe of the Catholic Archdiocese of Arusha in Tanzania has advocated for the culture of disease prevention over treatment through routine medical checkups and early diagnosis amid what he said is a growing threat of cancer and other lifestyle diseases in Africa.

In his homily during the Funeral Mass of Fr. Nolasco Mushi, the Tanzanian-born member of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit (Holy Ghost Fathers/Spiritans/CSSp.), who passed on August 16, Archbishop Amani faulted the tendency to seek medical attention when illness has advanced, saying this leads to late diagnoses and reduced chances of recovery.

“Cancer is really tormenting many people today, and the biggest problem for us Africans is getting tested. Often you hear that someone went for testing very late, and then they are told they are already in the advanced stages of cancer,” he said on Thursday, August 22 at the Spiritan Usa River Seminary in his Metropolitan See.

Credit: Radio Maria Tanzania

Archbishop Amani lamented that “many people endure illness at home, relying on painkillers or self-medication, only to go to hospital when their condition worsens.”

“Whether it is blood pressure or diabetes, when they (medics) tell you these things, you hear some say, ‘in our family we don’t have diabetes; in our family we don’t have cancer,’ but it is your body, not your family. Your body is not your lineage,” he observed.

Credit: Radio Maria Tanzania

The Tanzanian Catholic Arcehbishop also encouraged the enrolment into and use of health insurance covers, noting that while many Africans get registered in some insurance plans, they do not take advantage of regular screenings, which are part of the benefits.

“Many people have health insurance covers but don’t go for checkups until they fall seriously ill, yet the other purpose of that insurance is to go for regular tests,” said Archbishop Amani in his emphasis of disease prevention culture.

He continued, “It is important to build the habit of early testing. We should not wait until illness becomes severe before seeking treatment. Early detection saves lives. In fact, when cancer is diagnosed at stage one, it can often be cured. But when we delay, treatment becomes a major challenge.”

Credit: Spiritans/Tanzania

Yiu can indicate: Spiritans/Tanzania

Fr. Nolasco succumbed to cancer. Earlier, he had sought treatment in India, where he was operated on. The Spiritan Priest also received treatment in Dar es Salaam.

In his August 21 homily, Archbishop Amani, who started his Episcopal Ministry in February 2008 as Bishop of Tanzania’s Moshi Catholic Diocese eulogized the late Fr. Nolasco as a dedicated Priest characterized with “extraordinary courage and steadfast faith.”

“Our brother Priest wrote his life story by faithfully following the call of his baptism, and formed in the missionary spirit, he embraced with courage the call to go where the Word of God had not yet reached. With courage he accepted to be sent and went to do missionary work,” he said about the late Spiritan Priest, a native of Moshi Diocese.

Credit: Spiritans/Tanzania

Archbishop Amani went on to recall that in 2013, the late Fr. Nolasco willingly volunteered to be commissioned to South Sudan to be part of the pioneer Spiritans in the East African nation that had gained independence from Sudan in July 2011.

He recalled, “After serving at Usa River Seminary, he volunteered to go to South Sudan to establish a mission. Those living there testify that it is only by God’s providence that they are able to live in peace. Such places require extraordinary courage and steadfast faith from those who choose to serve there, and he was among them.”

“People were fleeing, government officials were running away, leaving everything to God and His people. But he said, ‘I will remain there,’ and he battled with the challenges of his work until he was called by his Creator,” recalled the 74-year-old Tanzanian-born Catholic Archbishop, who has been at the helm of Arusha Archdiocese following his appointment in December 2017.

Credit: Spiritans/Tanzania

He noted that, even amid the challenges of mission and declining health, he remained unwavering in his relationship with the person of Jesus Christ.

“He lived his vows faithfully and left us the witness of a life of love, courage, sacrifice, and endurance. He believed in eternal life and taught others to know, love, trust, and serve God,” Archbishop Amani said of the late Spiritan Priest, who passed on aged 55.

The Catholic Church leader noted that the late Fr. Nolasco’s “teaching and example lives on in those who heard him and keep his memory alive.”

Credit: Spiritans/Kenya

(Story continues below)

“Even in his final suffering,” Archbishop Amani recalled, Fr. Nolasco, “embraced the cup of illness with faith and patience,” offering a lesson on the wise use of health: not to harm ourselves or others, but to serve God and one another in love.

“The work the Priest did was to lead many to live righteously: in our marriages, in our families, at work, in politics, in the economy, to live justly,” he further said about the late Spiritan, who had been ordained a Priest in May 2006.

In his August 21 homily at the Funeral Mass, Archbishop Amani emphasized the need for the people of God to embrace justice as the true foundation of peace, without which, he said, all efforts amount only to noise and struggle, without lasting peace.