Zimbabwe: Bulawayo celebrates first Basilica in Southern Africa

St Mary's Minor-Basilica

Pope Francis has granted the former cathedral of Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, the status of Minor-Basilica - the only church in the whole of Southern Africa to have been awarded this honour. According to Archbishop Alex Thomas of Bulawayo, this rare award has been made because of the church's historical relevance and special architectural design; but it brings with it new responsibilities.

"This building qualifies to be a basilica because of its centrality to the colonial struggles in Southern Africa as well as its age," Archbishop Thomas told members of Social Communications departments from various dioceses in Zimbabwe and the Jesuit Communications staff who had made a pilgrimage to the Minor-Basilica in Bulawayo. "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."

Bulawayo has been at the centre of the development of Christianity in Zimbabwe since the first Jesuits arrived in the region in 1879. By the mid 1890s, the Jesuits had built a small chapel in Bulawayo, which was meant to serve as a boy's school. The foundation stone of St Mary's was laid in 1903 and the church became a cathedral in 1955. Zimbabwe was part of the British Jesuit Province until 1978, when it became a province in its own right. Pope John Paul II visited what was then St Mary's Cathedral of Bulawayo on 12 September 1988, where he met with thousands of Christians and civic leaders who acknowledged the role the Church has always played in the life of Zimbabwe.

St Mary's Minor-Basilica has a number of architectural design elements which are quite unique, as Archbishop Thomas pointed out. "There are certain prescribed measurements for churches and the building here gets that right, from length to the width and height. The altar is made of a single stone, the roof of cooper and the walls are all genuine granite rock. You won't find that anywhere else in Zimbabwe. " However, the archbishop reminded the pilgrims that the church's new status brings with it extra responsibilities, especially the teaching of the faith and more solemn liturgies.

"The new set up also entails that we celebrate the feasts that are celebrated in a special way at St Peters' in Rome," he explained. "For example, the feast of St Peter, we also must celebrate it in a big way here. Then there is adoration. We must have it more than we used to here."