The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ifakara
Ceded from Mahenge Diocese on 14th January 2012, Ifakara is
the newest Catholic diocese in the country and its first Bishop, Salutaris
Melchior Libena was born
on 23rd November 1963 at Mtimbira, Ulanga District, in the Diocese
of Mahenge . The towns strategic position as the major road
junction and only river crossing point in this fertile area means the
population of over 323, 000, (89% of whom are Roman Catholic), is growing.
Roman Catholic Diocese of Ifakara
P.O. Box 57, Morogoro
Region, Tanzania. East Africa
Ifakara is a rural market
town in the Kilombero Valley, 320 km South East from the largest city Dar es
Salaam (8° 8' 0" South, 36° 41' 0" East). The Valley is flanked to the North by
the Udzungwa Mountains National Park and to the South by both the Mahenge
mountains, which border the Southern Highlands and the Selous Game Reserve.
Covering 14, 245 sq Km (5,502 sq miles) of southern dry savannah woodland, the
Kilombero River floods the Kibasira swamp, East Africa’s largest lowland wetland
and a RAMSAR and UNESCO World Heritage site. There is also mixed agriculture
with commercial sugar and teak plantations, but the vast majority of arable land
is given over to subsistence peasant farming and fishing.
For over a century,
Christian churches of all denominations have been fundamental in building the
infrastructure of Tanzania, since before independence in 1961. The diocese, in
partnership with government and donor organisations has founded the following
institutions:
·
St. Francis Regional
Referral Hospital – For the Morogoro region.
·
St. Francis University
College of Health & Allied Sciences – Training medical doctors.
·
Edgar Maranta College;
General Nursing Diploma Upgrading Course – Training nurses.
·
St. Benignis Centre –
Teaching vocational trade skills to girls.
·
St. Joseph Vocational
Training Centre – National trade qualifications for both boys and
girls.
·
Bethlehem Centre –
Primary education and vocational training for special needs
children.
·
Nazareth Centre for
Leprosy.
There are also many other smaller
institutions mostly supporting health and education in the 18 parishes including
St. Benignis; Sole; Compassion; Assumption; Queen Mary’s Secondary
Schools.
The Diocese is centred on St. Andrews church
and Mission building in the heart of the town. It consists of the following
religious groups and orders:
·
Franciscan Capuchin
Brothers.
·
Priests of Heralds of
Good News.
·
Priests of the
Congregation of Missionaries of Compassion.
·
Apostolic Life Community
of Priests in the Opus Spiritus Sanct.
·
Precious
Blood
·
Franciscan Sisters of
Charity (Diocese of Mahenge).
·
Franciscan Clarist
Congregation; Holy Spirit Congregation; Sisters of Good News
(India).
·
Little Sisters of Mother
of Sorrows (Italy).
·
Ursuline Sisters of
Sacred Heart of Jesus Agonizing.
Thanks for very comprehensive information
ReplyDeleteGood and uptodate information, thanks a lot!
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ReplyDeleteCan you add the word Ifakara after P.O. Box 57?
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