SYDNEY MUBAIWA
MIDLANDS BUREAU CHIEF

GWERU – St Paul Parish of the Roman Catholic in Mkoba, Gweru on Sunday celebrated its 60th anniversary with priests and parishioners going through the establishment’s rich history.
The celebrations were graced by Gweru Diocese Bishop, Rt Rev Rudolf Nyandoro and the guiding theme was “Develop, Share and Evangelise “.
One of the early priests at the parish present during the event was Peter Marimi.
Bishop Nyandoro said the day was there to reflect the great work carried out by priests and congregants “who came before us”.
He said that there were many achievements including laying the foundation for the evangelization in the area. Apart from converting people to God, the Church also established Regina Mundi Girls High, one of the biggest schools in Gweru.
The first priest at the church was the late Father Josef Reich And the first black priest was the late Rev Father Constantine Mashonganyika.
On July 14, 1964, the late Rev Father Reich opened the St Paul’s parish and was priest in charge for 10 years. He baptised 2 147 people.
Ronnie Maeresa was the parish council’s first chairperson. The first Christian Men’s Association (CMC) was established by Clemence Mugapu.
In 1967, the church built St Paul’s Primary School and the first school head was Raphael Paradza. Father Mashonganyika became the first black priest from 1975-76. In 1976, Father Antony Gwatiringa became the priest-in-charge of the parish. Father Innocent Makonese headed the parish for a year from 1979-80 .
Retired Bishop Michael Bhasera headed the parish for three years from 1980 to 1983. Father Peter Marimi took over from Rev Father Marinus Mashoko from 1990 -92.
He spearheaded several projects. Today Father Francis Musindo is the priest -in -charge. The Diocese of Gweru which covers 29,158 km² with a population of 96 023 active Catholics (2022 statistics) has 36 parishes, 70 priests and 287 sisters.
The Diocese has been headed by six bishops, Alois Haene, Tobias Chiginya, Xavier Mugadzi, Martin Munyanyi, Xavier Munyongani and Nyandoro.