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Zambia’s Mansa Diocese Set to Celebrate Jubilee Year of Mission for Peace

A poster for the Diocesan Year of the Apostolate celebrated this year in the Diocese of Mansa.

The leadership of Zambia’s Mansa Diocese has announced the celebration of “the Diocesan Jubilee Year of Mission for Peace” from December 12, during which the people of God in the Southern African nation will pray for peace.

“I am delighted to announce the Diocesan Jubilee Year of Mission for Peace to be celebrated under the theme: Peace be with you. This Jubilee Year will be launched on 12 December 2020 during the solemn Eucharistic celebration in the Cathedral and will be concluded on the solemnity of Christ the King 2021,” Bishop Patrick Chilekwa Chisanga says in a statement issued Sunday, November 29.

He adds, “Our commitment to the mission of peace will accordingly be the context in which our pastoral programs shall be carried out throughout this new liturgical year as we also review the life and mission of the Catholic Church in the Luapula region since its establishment as a Diocese in 1961.”

Reflecting on the theme of the Jubilee Year, Bishop Chisanga says, “Peace – shalom in Hebrew and eiréné in Greek – is indeed a very rich and central concept found in both the Old and the New Testaments. It denotes harmony in being and relationships, the relationship of love and loyalty with God and between human beings.”

The Bishop continues in reference to peace, “It points to a state of reconciliation and wholeness among people in their social settings.”

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“Peace cannot simply be the absence of war (negative peace). It is rather a positive notion indicating the presence of all the conditions that promote social justice,” the Zambian Prelate further says.

The member of the Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) adds, “There is peace where human dignity is respected, where there is promotion and defence of human rights, the rule of law, equal access to economic opportunities, and full participation of the people in the public affairs of their land.”

In the 10-point statement, the Bishop says that the people of God under his pastoral care have “been called to participate fully in the mission of Jesus Christ to announce and propagate peace in the world.”

“The Diocesan Jubilee Year of Mission for Peace is coinciding with the much-anticipated year of general elections in Zambia scheduled for August 2021. This makes our mission for peace all the more urgent and focused,” the 49-year-old Bishop says in the November 29 message.

He invites “every member of our diocesan community to participate fully in this mission of announcing peace upon this nation.” 

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He continues, “The Diocese of Mansa pledges to engage the stakeholders in dialogue and safeguarding of peace as well as to continue praying for peace to prevail upon Zambia during the forthcoming crucial period.” 

“I am banking on the crucial role of the lay faithful in their respective everyday occupations and interactions for the concrete realization of the mission for peace during this Jubilee Year of the Diocese,” Bishop Chisanga says in the November 29 message.

The Local Ordinary of Mansa implores, “May this liturgical year of God's favour bring renewed commitment towards the mission of peace throughout the Diocese and beyond. Peace be with you.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.