The Sunday Mail
Alvin Zhakata
AN 80 foot bell tower bearing the Zimbabwe national flag and the Vatican flag stands prominently in Bulawayo’s city centre.
The baroque, gothic architecture stands like a colossus at the corner of 9 Avenue and Lobengula Street.
The building evolved from being a church into a cathedral before Pope Francis bestowed upon it the Minor Basilica status in August 2013.
The conferment of the Basilica status is not a source of pride for the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe only but the nation at large as it is the only Basilica in the Sadc region.
A Basilica is a status given to a church by the Pope through a proclamation passed by the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Discipline of Sacraments in Vatican, the governing body of the Roman Catholic Church.
lt is of historical significance to the local area as well as the church at large, diocese or the church’s region.
The Basilica is also an important pilgrimage in liturgy of the Catholic church.
The status is used to identify churches of historical and spiritual significance.
“This building qualifies to be a Basilica because of its centrality to the colonial struggles in southern Africa as well as its age,” explained Bulawayo Archbishop Alex Thomas on the official unveiling of the Minor Basilica.
“The building we see today was built more than 110 years ago and it is still standing. It also got its new status because of its historical significance as a place where many generations came to pray for guidance, leadership and strength in the various stages of the liberation struggles,” he added.
St Mary’s is the sixth ancient structure in Bulawayo.
History records state that St Mary’s played an important role in the evangelisation of not only Bulawayo but the entire Matebeleland region since the colonial era.
In 1879, the Jesuit priests arrived in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia) under the leadership of Father Depelchin SJ and were granted permission by King Lobengula to start a mission in Bulawayo.
The first mission was started in a house and was called the mission of the Sacred Heart. However, in 1881, it was burnt down at the command of King Lobengula.
Ironically, the street that runs from St Mary’s into the Bulawayo CBD was named after King Lobengula.
ln 1887, King Lobengula gave permission to move the mission to Empandeni and a few Jesuits remained in Bulawayo to carry out missionary work.
A small chapel was built between 10th and Main Streets but by 1901, the Catholic community had grown too big for the chapel.
Therefore, the Bulawayo City Council allocated the St Mary’s current site to the Jesuits.
The foundation stone was laid by Prefect Apostolic Monsignor Sykes SJ in 1903, paving way for the construction of the church by Croatians.
In 1920, Marianhill missionaries came to Bulawayo and the Prefect Apostolic of Bulawayo Monsignor Ignatius Arnoz made St Mary’s of the Immaculate Conception his Episcopal church.
St Mary’s became pro-cathedral but still fell under the Salisbury diocese until 1955 when Bulawayo was declared a diocese and it subsequently became a cathedral.
Parishioners of St Mary’s requested a memorial to honour the war victims of the 2nd World War and that saw an inscription reading: “In memoriam morutorm in bello 1939-45 (In memory of those who died in the 1939-45 war)” being placed above the crucifix. The inscription remains there to this day.
Mr Paul Sunduza said the Basilica is a special gift to Zimbabwe.
“We now have Latin mass once every month and Gregorian chants. This is a special gift from Pope Francis and we are forever grateful,” he said.
He said pilgrims come from neighbouring countries to visit the Basilica.
“Pilgrims come from Zambia,South Africa and other neighbouring countries to see the Basilica as it is the only one in the Sadc region,” he said.
