Zimbabwe: Celibate and Secluded – Nuns Pray for the World

Zimbabwe: Celibate and Secluded – Nuns Pray for the World

The Standard – Imagine a life without a mobile phone and being cut away from family and friends that even the death of a parent cannot reunite you with them.

Such is the life of 12 Catholic nuns, whose celibacy restricts them to St Francis of Assisi Roman Catholic Church in Harare’s Waterfalls suburb.

A life of prayer takes care of the loneliness.

While it is most parents’ fervent dream that upon completing school, their children get decent jobs and help change their family’s fortunes, it is not so for parents of the 12 nuns who have vowed to live a life of celibacy.

Mozambican-born Maria Tamele (55), and Agnes Mary are part of the 12, who are “madly in love with Jesus Christ”, to such an extent they claim they will never marry, but will spend the rest of their lives with their chosen “lover,” the Messiah.

Unlike other active Catholic sisters who freely mingle with other people, study and even work, the 12 nuns, as per their chosen Catholic doctrine, are regarded as “professed sisters”, who do not mix with other people, work or study.

While relatives, including parents, can visit them, they can only speak with them through a screen, disallowing any physical contact, and the visits are limited.

Also known as “Poor Clare Sisters”, their life is a routine dominated by prayers.

Together, they are one big family and only connect with individual families through prayer. They cannot be by a sibling’s bedside during illness or attend a parent’s funeral.

Completely shut away from the outside world, they are only allowed to visit an ill parent for a maximum of seven days.

If the parent dies, they cannot attend the funeral.

They neither watch television nor read newspapers. A group cellphone is their only means of communication.

Strange as it may seem, the nuns say they have no regrets whatsoever for their chosen way of life.

“I am Jesus’s spouse and for 26 years I have been happily married to him. Each day I aspire to be like him,” said Sister Tamele, who came from Mozambique in 1987, as she showed off her ring.

True to her calling, Sister Tamele did not attend her father’s funeral or visit his graveside after he died in Mozambique some years back.

Explaining the nature of their relationship with Jesus, Sister Tamele said just like a boy and a girl who take time to know each other before marriage, she spent 20 years as a “finale professed” sister, reflecting on her choice and getting to know her “husband” through scriptures and prayers.

This was before she finally “married Christ” to become a professed sister.

“We are not of the world but only part of it, hence we avoid things that may distract our attention, such as television and mingling with other people,” said the soft-spoken lady.

This practice started in Spain in 1212 with one Clare of Assisi, whose deep devotion to Christ saw her fleeing from her parents to dedicate her time to the Lord.

There are an estimated 20 000 such nuns in 75 countries worldwide.

The Waterfalls nuns comprise Zimbabweans, a Mozambican and a Burmese. Despite their varied backgrounds, they live as one big, happy family.

The golden rule in the highly secured house is “to love one another”.

Their day starts at 5:45am when they wake up and just like boarding school students, take a quick bath, take care of house-keeping issues and then at 6:15am, gather for the first session of the seven prayer sessions that they conduct religiously every day.

At 7am, the sisters converge in the church for a 30-minute mass where they sing, and pray for the living and the dead, read the bible before taking Communion followed by a thanksgiving session with the priest closing the mass.

“Time is precious and we have no time for other things, we approach life through prayer. Prayer is our life. We pray for ourselves, for everyone, for the country and for the world,” said one of the nuns, Sister Mupunga.

The nuns are also industrious, as they have to work to find food to eat.

They do gardening, make biscuits and alter bread, which is served during mass, as well as mending or sewing the priest’s church regalia.

But do they ever have disputes?

“Differences are always there as we come from different backgrounds and everyone is unique,” she said. “But do these differences separate us? No!”

They sat they always find amicable solutions through the guidance of scriptures.

Sister Tamele claimed that they had never dated, but admitted that just like any other human beings, they do have feelings.

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