Lusaka, 02 December, 2025 / 2:56 AM
The Local Ordinary of Zambia’s Catholic Diocese of Mansa has expressed confidence that the graces of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year will continue to sustain the spiritual energy of the people of God under his pastoral care into the new ecclesiastical year.
In his November 29 message for Advent, Bishop Patrick Chilengwa Chisanga looks back on the major moments of the just concluded liturgical year and outlines the Pastoral priority for the new ecclesiastical year that commenced on November 30.
“May the fruits of the Holy Year sustain our spiritual energy as we continue our journey of faith as 'Pilgrims of Hope' in the new year 2026,” Bishop Chisanga said, noting that “Hope has been the key message and central reference of all pastoral activities in the Diocese of Mansa as it was for the universal Church during the Jubilee Year ending 2025.”
The member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) expressed gratitude to the people of God under his pastoral care for their commitment and “overwhelming” participation and pastoral initiatives undertaken to celebrate the Jubilee Year.
He noted that a special blessing of the Jubilee Year to the Diocese of Mansa was the celebration of 120 years since the arrival of the pioneer Catholic missionaries at Lubwe and the beginning of systematic evangelization of the Luapula region.
The Zambian Catholic Church leader recalled that it was during the Church’s Jubilee Year of hope that the universal Church mourned the passing on of Pope Francis, and witnessed the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as 267th Pope.
He recalled the late Pope Francis for striving to “rebuild the Church” through humility, care for the poor, environmental stewardship, and advocacy for peace in the spirit of St. Francis of Asisi.
“True to the name he assumed upon his election in 2013, Pope Francis strove to 'rebuild the Church' in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi through a life of humility, compassion for the poor, care for Mother Earth, and advocacy for global peace,” the Bishop said.
He said that the Diocese of Mansa had embraced Pope Leo XIV “with deep gratitude and joy.”
Appealing for continued solidarity with the Holy Father, the OFM member said, “Let us continue to pray for him that through his Petrine ministry, the love and peace of the Risen Lord may touch all humanity and unite the whole Church in the one faith.”
Meanwhile, the Church leader who has been at the helm of Mansa Diocese since his Episcopal Consecration in April 2014, has announced the pastoral focus in 2026 shall be, “Go and Repair my Church: Rebuilding the Diocese through Faith-formation, Infrastructure Development and Responsible Stewardship.”
He says it is necessary that the pastoral orientation of the new ecclesiastical year be focused on “repairing and consolidating the fundamental principles of our faith and traditions as Catholics.”
The 54-year-old Zambian Catholic Church leader expressed hope that the pastoral focus on “the call to rebuild the Church will yield the desired fruits of a Catholic faith that has truly taken root in personal everyday life as well as in the community.”
The Pastoral theme, he said, is an invitation to the people of God under his pastoral care to respond to the divine call, like St. Francis, “not only through actual repair of existing infrastructures, but also and, most importantly, through personal conversion and responsible stewardship of the faith and resources of the Church.”
Bishop Chisanga also highlighted the significance of the theme for the Southern African nation, especially as it prepares for the 2026 general elections.
“As Zambia goes to the polls in the August 2026 general elections, the call to ‘Go and repair my Church’ becomes all the more relevant and urgent to not only the Diocese of Mansa but to the nation at large,” the Bishop said.
He called for the “reconstruction and reinforcement of all democratic structures that are currently falling into ruin due to narrow, short-sighted partisan political interests.”
“Our prayer and action shall always be for peaceful, free, fair, and credible elections that guarantee authenticity of those elected,” the Bishop said.
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