ST. FIDELIS’
The Parish was established in 1936 by the Capuchins; Fr. Christopher was the first Superior. Since its inception the parish faithfully proclaims the Good News and serves the people living within its catchment area. People living in remote places have access to sacraments on average only once in three months, when a priest visits. The Catholic Church by her nature, she is Sacramental, and this propels us to visit these mass centres to celebrate with them the Eucharist and to administer other sacraments. We believe that sacraments can strengthen and transform these people’s lives effectively.
Sichili Parish is one of the biggest rural parish in Livingstone Diocese. It has 44 outstations which are divided into 11 Zones. Some of them are situated in very remote places; the furthest one is located 140 kilometres away from the main centre. The total number of Catholics is 5340.
The Parish is currently being served by Diocesan Priests.
Sichili Parish is located in the Western Province of Zambia, in Sesheke District. It is situated 256 Kilometres away from Livingstone town and 136 kilometresfrom Sesheke.
The are two masses on Sundays, the first one is at 08:00 hours which is children’s mass and the main mass is at 09:30 hours. Weekday mass is at 17:00 hours except on Saturdays when it is at 07:00 hours.
Many people of this parish are peasant farmers and remote dwellers. We have a few number of civil servants. The accessibility to food is by growing enough maize which is a staple food in this area. Few people live in houses owned by the missions which are of permanent structure and the majority live in houses which they erected using local material of grass, reeds, poles and mud. At the centre few people have access to clean water which they get from a borehole and they have to pay every month end for using it. Others, including all those from the Mass centres get their water from streams and rivers. They use the same streams and rivers for doing their washing and bathing which makes the water not safe for drinking. The only mode of transport which is common is the use of ox-carts and sledges. At the centre there is a government High School and some of the Mass centres have Basic Schools also owned by the Government. But very few have been to School.
There is also a Mission Hospital at the main centre which offers medical care to all these mass centres. Some of the mass centres have Primary Health Care Units (PHC) which attends to them on minor cases because all cases which they cannot handle are referred to the Mission Hospital. Out of the 44 mass centresonly 3 have small clinics. Sichili parish is the biggest rural parish in the Diocese of Livingstone and it is one of the poorest parish in the Diocese. The majority of these people depend on small scale farming to earn their living. Some hardly manage to support themselves. Very few people are in formal employment working as teachers and nurses.
The parish provides different services such as:
- Conducting seminars and workshops, which include catechetical training, Justice and Peace, Women and Family issues.
- Special attention is also given to the Youth through programmes that stimulate their genuine and integral growth. Since the scourge of AIDS is rampart there are also programmes for the Youth sensitising them on the dangers of HIV/AIDS and early teenage pregnancies and its consequences.
- We also visit mass centres as often as possible to celebrate the Eucharist and other sacraments, we also conduct workshops and seminars in mass centres.
The parish collaborates with organisations such as the cooperatives which deals with farming in view of helping our people to modernise their farming. We also work hand in hand with those promoting good morals in society.
The majority of people in these mass centres are recent converts to Catholicism and their faith still needs time to be truly rooted in their lives. They are also subjected to criticisms from their relatives and neighbours because of their faith. They live in a very traditional world, where they have to defend themselves against such social phenomenon like witchcraft, spirit possessions and polygamy. Each day they have to seek ways on how to integrate their new faith with their traditional way of life. They look to us, pastoral agents, for answers to their faith quest and support. Hence the need to constantly visit them and it is our priority to build a strong leadership through education of local catechists and prayer leaders who would be able to keep the community together and make them grow.
At the moment, Sichili parish continues to grow through various activities taking place in the parish. These activities strengthen people’s faith and give them new hope. This is done by different Lay organizations and ministries which helps in different ways in the running of the parish especially in reaching out to those who are not active in Church activities.
The people living in this area only turn to the Main centre for their faith quest. We are committed to pass on to people of this parish the Good news, in the same form as it has been handed down and entrusted to us. Our mission is to make Sichili Parish alive and feel that they are part of the Universal church.