The youth, he said, are organized under stable patronages in parishes, and are involved in various Diocesan pastoral activities.
In their parishes and Dioceses, the youth in Lamai are allowed representation on financial committees, and in all Church development projects.
The Diocese of Mzuzu is divided into the northern, central, and southern deaneries, all of them rural.
Growth in vocations in the Malawian Diocese is hindered by illiteracy and early marriages, Fr. Mwale said.
“Our Diocese is located in a rural setting where many families are poor and can barely afford to educate their children past primary school. Many young people are locked out of Religious Congregations for lack of relevant academic qualifications,” the Catholic Priest said.
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He added, “There is a high school dropout rate, and many children who drop out of school end up in early marriages. This blocks them from exploring other vocations.”
The Priest said that the Church in Malawi, through the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) is always trying to get children back to school, and added, “But there is always the problem of finances. The Church is always overwhelmed by the number of families in need.”
Bishops in Malawi have previously made an appeal to the youth in the country to consider devoting their life to the service of the Church, noting the shortage of Priests in the country.
“We, your Bishops in all the eight Dioceses in the country, are inviting you all our youths to reflect on your calling, especially the call to Priesthood because the vineyard is huge,” Bishop John Ryan of Mzuzu was quoted as saying a March 2022 report.
In his message for last year’s Vocations Sunday, Bishop Ryan bemoaned the reluctance on the part of young men in Malawi to dedicate their lives to the service of God as Priests.
The Catholic Bishop who has been at the helm of Mzuzu Diocese since his Episcopal Ordination in August 2016 said only three Priests had been ordained since his consecration as a Bishop, “a development which is worrisome,” he said.
Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya’s Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.
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