Catholic Church in Byo ordains five new priests Head of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Bulawayo, Archbishop Alex Thomas (fourth from left) is flanked by five newly-ordained priests during the ordination Mass at St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica on Saturday

Leonard Ncube , Chronicle Reporter
AFTER several postponements due to successive lockdowns, the Roman Catholic Church in Bulawayo finally ordained five  priests on Saturday following the green light by Cabinet for churches to hold services for vaccinated members.

The church urged members to take Government’s vaccination call seriously as it is the only way to save lives and prevent new cases which will then allow churches to resume normal services.

The ordination of Fr Jacob Sibelo, Fr Given Ncube, Fr Bernard Nkomo, Fr Lovemore Tichaona Makore and Fr Preashard Mlalazi took place at the St Mary’s Cathedral Basilica, Archdiocese of Bulawayo.

Only vaccinated church and family members of the new ordinates were allowed as the church observed strict Covid-19 protocols in line with the Cabinet resolution.

Social distancing was observed both inside the church building and outside while details of every person who entered the premises were recorded to allow for contact tracing in the event of any positive case.

While all attendees were fed lunch after the Ordination Mass, people quickly dispersed to allow for disinfection of the premises.

In line with the Catholic Church procedure, the new priests conducted their first Mass at their respective home parishes yesterday before their posting to new stations.

Head of the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Bulawayo, Archbishop Alex Thomas encouraged members of the church to get vaccinated.

“There were a lot of postponements and when Government announced that we could open for vaccinated members, we took the opportunity and had only one week to prepare. We are grateful to the hard work by everyone. Normally ordination takes place in June or July but we couldn’t have it because of lockdown,” said Archbishop Thomas.

He said the church leadership was happy seeing vaccinated members filling the Cathedral, a sign that people are taking heed of Government’s call.

“It is encouraging to see so many Catholics who have been fully vaccinated hence we encourage everyone to do so and protect lives and the church. From what we have seen so far, in three weeks’ time we might have every member vaccinated as people are burning to return to church,” he said.

Some churches are yet to open as members had not fully vaccinated when Cabinet allowed churches to resume services to weeks ago.

Church leaders and members who violate the health protocols risk being arrested and prosecuted.

Zimbabwe had by Saturday recorded 122 487 cumulative cases, 4 236 deaths and 106 366 recoveries.

A total of 2 301 641 people had received their first dose while 1 450 981 had been fully vaccinated. — @ncubeleon

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