Bishop Of Rome, Pope Francis Appoints Gokwe Spiritual Supervisor
Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis has appointed Chishawasha National Major Seminary Rector, Fr Eusebius Jelous Nyathi as the substantive bishop for the Diocese of Gokwe.
The Bishop elect who is originally from Hwange, takes over from Bishop Rudolf Nyandoro who was transferred to take charge of Gweru Diocese in September 2020 and has been doubling as bishop of Gokwe.
In a statement, the Apostolic Nunciature in Zimbabwe said Rev Fr Nyathi (49) will take over as bishop of Gokwe, a diocese that was once under Hwange diocese until the early 1990s when it became a standalone diocese.
“The Holy Father has appointed the Rev Eusebius Jelous Nyathi of the clergy of Hwange until now Rector of the National Major Seminary Sts John Fisher and Thomas More as Bishop of Hwange,” read the statement.
The Chishawasha Major Seminary is where priests undergo training in Zimbabwe.
No date has been set for the new bishop elect ordination.
In an interview in Victoria Falls, Rev Fr Nyathi said the appointment came as a shock to him as he did not expect such a high-ranking posting, but would take it as a continuation of his apostolic calling to serve the people of God.
“It’s always shocking and I wasn’t expecting that. Christ called me into priesthood and it’s something I believe is a continuation of that call,” he said.
Rev Fr Nyathi was ordained in 2004 and has been a priest working in various capacities for almost two decades.
He was born in Makwika, Hwange’s number 3 and did his primary education at Makwika Primary as well as Mashala primary in his home area before doing secondary education at Marist Brothers in Dete and Hwange Secondary Schools.
After ordination, his first appointment was at the Minor Seminary in Dete where he was vice Rector before being transferred to become acting parish priest for St Mary’s also in Hwange between 2006 and 2008.
He was in 2008 posted back to the Minor Seminary in Dete in 2008 to become Rector and promoter of vocations in Hwange Diocese until 2011 when he left to further his studies in Spain where he studied Dogmatic Pastoral Theology and finished in 2014.
He was appointed formator and lecturer of Dogmatic Theology at the Major Seminary in 2015 and became vice Rector in Theology in 2016 until 2022 when he was appointed Rector, a position he held until his appointment recently.
He said his vision is to have a united church that is alive to the needs of every member especially youth without leaving anyone behind.
“At the seminary we were focusing on the whole church training priests. Forming a priest is not easy but is a demanding task because we don’t want to produce priests that the church will complain about tomorrow.
“This new task has its own challenges, to shepherd the people of God in the Diocese of Gokwe will demand a lot. We have to come up with a vision and know where we are going as a church. Together with the people of Gokwe we will forge a way forward. We have to take a model of Eucharist, give ourselves and journey with the sick, the poor and needy leaving no one behind. As for the youth we have to be humbly and come to their level and listen to them,” he said.
Rev Fr Nyathi was born in a family of seven and his sister, Sr Juliet, is also a religious nun based at All Souls Mission in Binga.
His brother’s son Comfort Nyathi is also training as a priest and he finished his profession in April and is now in Rome, Italy studying Theology, meaning the family has three people in apostolic calling.
Rev Fr Nyathi is also a singer and part of the Nambya Composers Association.
–Chronicle
