By Dalphine Tagwirayi (THE STANDARD) POPE Francis of the Roman Catholic Church at the Vatican City yesterday appointed England-based, Xavier Munyongani as Bishop for Gweru Diocese.
The Bishop-elect is currently the chaplain of Zimbabwe Catholics in England. He was appointed chaplain in 2007 and was conferred and honoured by Pope Benedict XVI at the time.
Born in 1950, Munyongani is the eighth child and hails from Mutero mission in the diocese of Masvingo.
He completed his secondary education in 1970 at the Gweru Minor seminary and later joined Chishawasha major seminary from 1971 to 1977 to pursue studies in Philosophy and Theology.
He was ordained priest for the diocese of Gweru in 1997 and obtained a diploma in religious studies from the University of Zimbabwe in 1978.
Munyongani went to Rome for further studies and he obtained a Licentiate in Sacred Liturgy from St Anselm in 1986.
He was appointed formator and lecturer at Chishawasha Major Seminary in 1990 after the completion of his specialisation in Sacred Liturgy.
In 1998, Munyongani was the vice-rector of the Seminary and trained Zimbabwe’s priests for 14 years.
Gweru diocese was divided to establish Masvingo diocese in 1999 and hence Munyongani served in both dioceses. In Gweru he served as assistant priest at St Anthony’s in Zaka, parish priest at St Alois Mission and spiritual director at St Paul Brothers in Serima.
At Masvingo diocese, he held various positions as he was the Promoter of Lay Apostolate and spiritual director of St Joseph Association, assistant priest and spiritual director of St Anne Association at Silveira Mission.
