Having properly discerned and served the Lord for several years as junior sisters in the Congregation of the Sisters of Divine Providence, Sr Catherine Boloma, Sr Ruth Kacheka and Sr Margaret Gama requested to make their final profession. Sr Catherine Boloma was born on 22nd August 1982. She is the sixth born child in the family of seven children and she comes from St Kizito –Mitondo Parish in the Diocese of Chikwawa. She did her first profession on 30 th August 2014.
Sr Ruth Kacheka was born on 12 th September,1991. She is the third born child in the family of seven children and she comes from Molere Parish in the Diocese of Chikwawa but currently resides in the Diocese of Mangochi. She did her first profession on 30 th August, 2014.
Sr Margaret Gama was born on 4 th May,1989. She is the last born child in the family of four children and she comes from Bango Parish in the Archdiocese of Blantyre and currently belongs to St Michaels – Bangwe Parish in the same Archdiocese. She did her first profession on 17 th November, 2017 when the Region was celebrating the 175 years anniversary of the Congregation.
The set date for the feast was the Saturday of 24 th June, 2023 which was the feast of St John the Baptised. This was indeed a very remarkable day for the three sisters, the Region Malawi and indeed the Congregation as a whole. Our dearest General Superior Sr Lydia Liong, Sr Prisca Phwandaphwanda- the Region Malawi representative in the General Coordination Team, all the Sisters of Divine Providence in the Region flocked to the Church. The priests and brothers from different places were also not spared.
Many people, both Christians and non-Christians from around Limbe Cathedral Parish and from the parishes where the three sisters come from, flocked to St Anthony–Chinyonga Church as well which is a kilometre away from the Region House for this important feast. It was so great and exciting to see the General Superior Sr Lydia Liong all the way from Münster-Germany accompanied by the Regional Superior Sr Agnes Banda, receiving the Vows from the ‘three’ at the Holy Altar of the LORD after Sr Agnes Banda proudly called out their names to come closer to the Holy Place, escorted by their proud and excited parents.
The Eucharistic celebration for the feast started at 9:30 am, presided over by the very Rite Reverend His Grace Archbishop Thomas Luke Msusa of the Archdiocese of Blantyre after he had launched and blessed the foundation of the Fathers‘ house which is in the construction process in the Church premises some minutes ago. In His Homily, the Archbishop encouraged and advised the “Trinity” to always forge ahead with their service to God despite any hiccup on the way. He said God wants their service and He is happy with their total commitment to Him therefore, they should not disappoint Him in any way. He also thanked their parents who gave birth to them, raised them in faith and nurtured it in them until they started desiring to join the religious life.
The newly finally professed sisters got several types of gifts from some the faithful who witnessed the celebration. Thereafter, a great luncheon prepared by the Sisters in the Region in connection and collaboration with the Parish Council Executive and Organising Committee was served in the tents which were beautifully decorated and located outside the Church’s premises. This was followed by the entertainment whereby the local dances from the Trinity’s relatives were joyfully performed. Among the dances were Utse which is a common dance among the Sena people in the Diocese of Chikwawa and Ngole which is a common dance in some parts of the Archdiocese of Blantyre where the Lomwe people are located. Due to the attractive performance of the dancers, some participants of the feast including the Archbishop himself were taken up to join the dances joyfully. It was indeed time of fun!
This marked the end of the celebration and everyone would look for the way back to their homes, scared by the darkness that would soon cover the whole earth.
Proudly, the Region Malawi remains grateful for this feast and that now the finally professed sisters are growing in number. Not only that, but also it is grateful to the Providential Father for providing and instilling many vocations in the Region. This gives Hope for the future of the Region and the Congregation at large.
May Mary our Mother and the Mother of Divine Providence continue interceeding for us all!
May Our dearest Founder Fr Eduard Michelis continue praying for us all!
LONG LIVE THE SISTERS OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE IN ALL THE FIVE CONTINENTS OF THE WORLD!
By Sr Elizabeth Balala-RegionMalawi.