The Sunday News
Lungile Tshuma
A DARK cloud hung over the Roman Catholic in Zimbabwe and the Catholic family at large on New Year when news filtered that the first black Roman Catholic Diocesan priest in the Archdiocese of Bulawayo Monsignor Bernard Mapumavale Ndlovu had passed on.
To those who observed him closely, Monsignor Ndlovu always carried himself as one who was born to be the pioneer, as his former workmate and long time friend, Father Emmanuel Ribeiro recalls: “He was a man of prayer. He was prayerful and that helped him to survive. He went through hell but through prayer he managed to cross the bridges and most importantly, not him alone but he helped other people to cross the bridge.”
Born on November 5, 1925 in Kezi, Matabeleland South, Monsignor Ndlovu was raised in a poor family which at one time failed to pay for his school fees.
He was known to be a pioneer who had a lot of intelligence and integrity by the outside world. Many celebrated priests in the country looked up to him as a father figure.
Archbishop Pius Ncube rightfully observes: “When we grew up, being a priest was regarded as a preserve for whites but after seeing him as a priest, we were inspired and we too realised that we can be priests.”
Monsignor Ndlovu got his inspiration to be a priest when he was working as a general hand at St James Catholic Mission a Magaliesburg in Rusternburg, South Africa, his family said. He was ordained a priest on 26 October 1958 and it marked the day he began his great work in the Catholic. The celebrated priest, who started his Philosophical Studies in 1950 before training as a teacher at Kutama Mission in 1953, was a distinguished Roman Catholic author who wrote songs and articles on Roman Catholic in the country.
He wrote a book titled Ingxoxo Kadlaphasi Lodlaphezulu. The book expounded the Catholic doctrine in the form of dialogue. After furthering his Philosophical Studies at Lovanium University (Congo) in 1964, he produced a booklet of church music in Ndebele in 1962.
In 1973, he was appointed to the National Theological Commission which was responsible for the translation of the Bible into the local languages, his specialty being isiNdebele language, the translation which is still in use even today. He also boasts of over 80 compositions of church songs.
He assisted in the production of the Roman missal, the church’s manual handbook into isiNdebele in 1982. In many of his translations in his work he wrote short summaries of the saints which were inserted into the missal.
Father Ribeiro, who was also a member of the National Theological Commission, said the great work which the late Monsignor Ndlovu did cannot be destroyed by anyone as it was carved in stone.
“People are now singing, and reading the Bible in our own language and all these are his works,” said Father Ribeiro.
“He might have left us today but his work will last forever, no one will destroy the foundation, the great work which he did. I met him in 1952 when I went to the seminary in Chishawasha. Father Bernard was a dedicated man. He always carried a book and was very argumentative. This is a man of integrity who will always be missed. The Vatican Council made a decision where three countries, Nigeria, Congo and Southern Rhodesia were chosen for experimentation in enculturation.
“Rome said these countries were chosen so that they can pray in their own language, come up with rituals in their language and move away from Latin. The two of us discussed the matter as I was also interested in enculturation. By then I was working in Harare diocese and he was here. We worked hard to convince people that this was our time, it was Catholic and it was useful for us to communicate with God using our own language. It was difficult to convince people but today all what we are doing in church is part of his work.”
He worked in minor seminaries in Bulawayo and Botswana as well as parishes in the Archdiocese of Bulawayo, Uganda Martyrs, Luveve, Holy Cross Tshabalala and Our Lady of Assumption in Gwanda among others.
Through his undisputable work in the Catholic, in 2005 the Pope — Pope John Paul II bestowed the honorary title of Monsignor on the late Ndlovu. The title of Monsignor is an acknowledgement from the Pope for outstanding service done in the church. He started the Sodality of Our Lady Guild in Bulawayo. These achievements made him stand out and gain recognition from the Pope.
Monsignor Ndlovu was the Vicar General of the Diocese of Bulawayo for several years.
The Archbishop of the Bulawayo Diocese Alex Thomas said the late Monsignor Ndlovu leaves behind a very rich legendary service to the Catholic Church.
“He was a pioneer in many ways, first African priest and pioneer in composing church songs and translating the Bible. He achieved a lot because he was meticulous when it comes to being punctual, talented and well disciplined and expected people to be like that. He laid a good foundation for the future priests. He would motivate and had a right attitude that is lacking among the current generation,” said Archbishop Thomas.
His astounding character was not visible in the church as he was the family’s jewel and golden trophy too. He became the first teacher in the clan. His cotton stuffed hair surely represented wisdom as the large Ndlovu family frequently consulted him for guidance.
“We lost the unifier and pillar of the family. We are a big family with others in Kezi, Tsholotsho, Plumtree and Gwanda but he was the only man in the family who knew where to locate other family members. Our parents were very poor and at one time he dropped out of school after failing to get school fees but that never deterred him from achieving his goal. He is the first person to become a teacher in the family and we all looked up to him for advice,” said tearful Nicholas Ndlovu, who spoke on behalf of the family.
Speaking with the instruction from the Archbishop, Father Raphael Mabuza Ncube of St Augustine Seminary, a Catholic institution for training priests said the “highly criticised celibacy” is being proved by the late Monsignor Ndlovu that it is real and there are no challenges about it.
“I worked with him (Monsignor Ndlovu) when he was the director of vocation at the Diocese of Bulawayo and at the time I was a student to the priesthood and he was directly in charge of me. He was a great role model, not only through what he said to me but his way of life that inspired many of us. You could see in him a solid priest, committed priest and holy priest. The Catholic priesthood is often attacked especially the issues of celibacy. With such people like Father Bernard, it was a reality and many people have faithfully and fruitfully lived in it.”
Being prayerful is one of the important aspects which helped Monsignor Ndlovu to remain in the Lord’s path.
Said Archbishop Ncube, “He was a man who was prayerful. And like anyone else he went through temptations but never yielded to it. His biggest weakness was depression but through praying he overcame it. Some of the decisions which he took were viewed by many as too harsh. The late never travelled with a lady in his car. He opted to drive with two or more ladies. When we asked him why he was so harsh, he told us that he knew very well that he was weak hence the best thing to do was to stay safe. With that, he remained faithful to the Lord.”
