Dar es Salaam, 29 November, 2024 / 10:37 pm (ACI Africa).
Archbishop Gervas John Mwasikwabhila of the Catholic Archdiocese of Mbeya has called on members of the Institute of the Consolata Missionaries (IMC) and Consolata Missionary Sisters (MC) in Tanzania to continue holding onto the words of St. Joseph Allamano: to seek holiness and to zealously carry out missionary work to sanctify the world, “so that ultimately, God may be glorified both in our country and elsewhere.”
In his address at the Thanksgiving Mass he presided over at the Virgin Mary Consolata Shrine in Mshindo Parish, Catholic Diocese of Iringa, following the canonization of Blessed Joseph Allamano, Archbishop Mwasikwabhila underscored the importance of the missionary apostolate and holiness in fostering the Church's evangelization mission.
He said, “Our country needs holiness, our country needs missionaries. If there is anything shaking us, it is because some do not recognize the importance of being missionaries, those who have forgotten the way of holiness.”
"Once we forget, we fail to do missionary work, and as a result, those who need to know Christ through us will be lost,” he warned during the November 20 Eucharistic celebration.
The Tanzanian Catholic Church leader, who has been at the helm of the Mbeya Metropolitan See since his appointment in December 2018, noted that Tanzania has greatly benefited from the fruits of the missionary work of the Consolata Missionaries.