Centre House :: Formation House :: Kalabo :: Limulunga :: Lukulu :: Mary Immaculate

History

In 1942, the first Catholic Mission in Kalabo District was established at Sihole, a village situated about 50 kilometres south-west of Kalabo town by the Franciscans Capuchins.  The first Mass was cerebrated on 21^st July 1942 .

Frs. Phelim O’shea and Killian Flynn, the first two priests to work in Kalabo walked a long distance and finally arrived at Sihole to build a mud thatched house where they lived as they ministered to the people.  They started making and burning mud bricks for the building of the church.  The burning required that the fires were kept going for a period of three days and nights, therefore one of the priests, Fr. Gerard, had to spend nights in the bush ( about 2 kilometres away from their house) just to be close to the kiln to keep the bricks burning.

He caught Malaria whilst burning bricks for the church building and died because the priests had at this time run out of medical supplies.  The priests made a coffin using the planks that were meant for the roofing of the new church.

After the death of Father Gerard, Fr. Jerome came from Cape Town , South Africa to continue working.  The mission erected a number of structures at Sihole; church building, Convent, clinic and they also built several schools for the local people.  They also promoted agriculture by digging canals for the purpose of draining the swampy grounds in the area.

In the 1950s, there was discussion on girl’s education in Kalabo district.  Fr. Connor who was at that time stationed at Sihole was very instrumental in the subject and spearheaded the opening of a school for girls at Nalionwa, a village situated right in the heart of Kalabo Township .  By 1960, St. Michael Catholic Church (Nalionwa Mission) and Nalionwa School for girl’s buildings were finished.  Franciscan sisters came and started teaching at the school.

In 1979, the Capuchins experienced shortages in Personnel and closed the Sihole mission and relocated to Nalionwa mission. They handed over the Convent and Clinic to Government of Zambia.  Also, most of the outstations that were opened by the Capuchins were closed.  Most of them had no visitations by Priests for years.

In September 1986, the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate took over the Nalionwa mission from the Capuchins with Fr. Pat Gitzen as the first superior. 

The first task for the Missionary Oblates was to reopen most of the closed up outstations.  They formed and trained Pastoral Teams consisting of parishioners who accompany priests to outstations.  This lay group together with the priests in Kalabo tries as much as possible to visit each church at least twice in a year.  During these visits, workshops on different topics that include sacraments leadership and self sustainability are given to parishioners.  Baptisms are also conducted.  To date, many outstations are still being opened. Most of the 65+ outstations are doing well.

Every month a calendar is followed to insure that no outstation is left out.  There are also instances when the pastoral team travels alone to these remotest churches.

However, because most parishioners in this part of Zambia are illiterate, the parish is finding it difficult to equip them with the needed leadership skills.  They spend a lot of time training new people as those who are literate usually move to work in other areas in the country.

During the past 20 years, the Oblates have not only served the catholic mission but the district as a whole, the fact attested to and appreciated by non Catholics.  Apart from pastoral work, the oblates have also worked on feeder roads.  They have also extended most old buildings and added new structures at the Parish centre. 

By 2004, a number of lay organisations and social outreach programmes had been formed by the Oblates in Kalabo.  They have created three Agricultural development centres at Nalionwa, Nangumba and Sihole, which help in creating food security for the local farmers as well as encouraging commercial and small scale farmers to have cash through the growing of Cash crops like rice.  These agricultural centres also provide farming implements.  Kalabo has also seen an increase in rice production which has also added to a variety in dietary needs of the local people.

Women of Kalabo have had their workload reduced as they no longer pound because the Oblates installed hammer mills.

There are many lay groups that have sprang in the Parish, groups as such as the Catholic Women’s league, Legion of Mary, the St. Vincent de Paul, The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) and the Alume (an organisation of the men of the parish).

The Oblates also run an Education Assistance program to assist students who cannot avoid paying school fees. The program assists up to 50 such students every year.  

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