St Gerards Borrowdale Parish

St Gerards Catholic Church is the first Redemptorist church to be constructed in Zimbabwe.[1] [2][3] St Gerard's Catholic Catholic Church is situated in Borrowdale, Greystone Park in Harare, Zimbabwe. The church is styled on the circular cathedral in Liverpool except that it is smaller.

St Gerard's Catholic Catholic Church
St Gerards Borrowdale Parish
Borrowdale Parish
Location6 Stonechat Lane

Greystone Park

Borrowdale Harare
CountryZimbabwe
DenominationRoman Catholic
TraditionLatin Rite
Religious instituteCongregation of the Most Holy Redeemer
History
Consecrated1960
Past bishop(s)Patrick Fani Chakaipa
Architecture
Years built1972
Specifications
Capacity500
Administration
ParishSt Gerard's
DeaneryInner City Deanery
ArchdioceseArchdiocese of Harare
ProvinceHarare
Clergy
ArchbishopRobert Ndlovu
Priest in chargeFr Tryvis Moyo, C.Ss.R
Curate(s)
  1. Fr. Kunaka, Francis C.Ss.R
  2. Fr. Byrne, Manyenga C.Ss.R
  3. Fr. Chikuni, Mark C.Ss.R
  4. Fr. Hama, George C.Ss.R

History

It was in 1959 when Fr Gerald Hughes, C.Ss.R, who was the Provincial Superior of the Redemptorists in London, got a request from Archbishop Framcis Markall SJ to come and work in the Archdiocese of Harare. When the request came the Redemptorists who were already in South Africa, began to plan to come to Zimbabwe. This eventually became a reality in 1960 when Fr Gerald Hughes sent out Fr Phillip Foster and Fr Antony Pathe to Zimbabwe (Rhodesia). They arrived in August 1959. The Redemptorists at the time where very much interested in coming to work in Harare precisely because they felt that through living and working in this place they would be very close to fulfilling the very reason why the Congregation was founded – service of the marginalised poor. When they were given the parish of St Gerard it was not always affluent, but a farming community. Therefore, they were not only serving the elite white community but also the marginalised black community that lived in the farms as farm labourers. At the time, there were very few schools available for the farm labourers children. Therefore, the Redemptorists were the first to put up makeshift schools for these children and to teach them formal education in the parish of St Gerard's. This was eventually stopped by the Smith regime, the white government at that time putting an end the Redemptorist's desire to spread the good news through the ministry of education.[4]

Parish Ministry
Church of the Immaculate Conception

St Gerards Parish church serves Greystone Park, Glen Lorne, Borrowdale, Borrowdale Brooke, Pomona, Vainona, Colray, Philadelphia, Quinnington.

St Gerard's Parish serves 2 subparishes

  1. Church of the Immaculate Conception Highlands sub parish (in the image) in the grounds of Nazareth House.This sub parish serves Highlands, Chisipite, Lewisam, Colne Valley,Rolf Valley, The Grange, Glen Lorne, Mandara and parts of Greendale.[5]
  2. St Cecilia Charlotte Brooke

Mass Times
  1. 08:00 English Mass
  2. 11:00 Shona Mass

Notable works

St Augustines Hatcliffe Parish Former Sub parish which is presently an independent fully fledged parish.

References
  1. "Parishes". Redemptorists of the Zimbabwe Region. 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  2. News, Independent Catholic. "Parish celebration in Zimbabwe | ICN". www.indcatholicnews.com. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  3. "CSsR Building work in Zimbabwe". www.redemptorists.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  4. "How Redemptorists came to Zimbabwe". Redemptorists of the Zimbabwe Region. 2017-09-17. Retrieved 2020-06-17.
  5. News, Independent Catholic. "Parish celebration in Zimbabwe | ICN". www.indcatholicnews.com. Retrieved 2020-06-17.

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