The coming centenary celebrations in the Diocese of Manzini will be a very important event not only for the Diocese but for the country as a whole. From the very beginning the Catholic Church preached a Gospel that touched the lives of the people, particularly those who suffer most. As the "Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 'Gaudium et Spes'" would say many years later: "The joys and the hopes, the griefs and the anxieties of the men of this age, especially those who are poor or in any way afflicted, these are the joys and hopes, the griefs and anxieties of the followers of Christ. Indeed, nothing genuinely human fails to raise an echo in their hearts."
For that reason it was suggested we held a "press conference" to announce this event to all the people in the Kingdom of Swaziland. All media was invited: TV, radio, newspapers. They responded generously.
About two weeks' ago we met at the bishop's house for an hour. We had time to tell them about the centenary of the arrival of the first Catholic missionaries (27 January 1914) and the way we plan to celebrate it.
We are really grateful as all of them spoke about it in the evening and in the next day's newspapers.
At that time I did not know about my coming appointment as bishop of the Diocese of Manzini. So, one week later, we contacted them and shared with them the news. Once again, they helped us let everyone know about it both in Swati and English.
Coming back to Swaziland last week, I was asked at the border: "Which border are the bishops going to use when they come to Swaziland? We are happy they are coming and we would like to receive their blessing".
