Archbishop Mpako further encouraged the first Auxiliary Bishop of Pretoria Archdiocese to be a caring shepherd who strives to bring out the “best in those entrusted to our leadership and partially so that they become in their own right, active agents of the good news, people on fire with the gospel values, evangelized evangelizers.”
Bishop Selemela who was ordained a Priest in June 1999 was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Pretoria Archdiocese in July.
In his September 3 homily, Archbishop Mpako made reference to Bishop Selemela’s coat of arms, “Called to Discipleship”, saying the message on it “echoes the great commissioning of the gospel of Matthew 28:1, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.”
“This great commissioning reminds everyone that the Church by its very nature is missionary, that is, the Church by its very nature is sent out,” he said.
The 63-year-old Archbishop encouraged the new Auxiliary Bishop to emulate Prophet Isaiah’s “process of evangelization” in bringing good news, especially to those most in need of hearing and experiencing this good news.”
“We, the present-day Church, as part of our prophetic mission, are called upon to bring good news, especially to those who find themselves in different situations of darkness,” Archbishop Mpako said.
He continued, “We the Catholic Church in Southern Africa desire to take up this call and to articulate clearly for ourselves how best to carry out our missionary calling in our time and context.”
The South African Archbishop who started his Episcopal Ministry in August 2011 as Bishop of South Africa’s Queenstown Diocese also noted the importance of the recently launched Archdiocesan pastoral plan in the ministry of the new Bishop.
“In the local Church of the Archdiocese of Pretoria, after carrying out a consultation process through the diocesan Synod, we have just launched our adopted pastoral plan, which guides us on how to best implement the personal plan of the Catholic Church in Southern Africa,” he said.
He added, “As our mission, Bishop Masilo, we have committed ourselves to promote and foster a personal encounter with Christ to deepen our faith and spirituality, to become truly and authentically an evangelizing and missionary Church together.”
