Antony Chawagarira
HARARE — The search for Father Regis Chikuni, which gripped the Catholic community and ordinary Zimbabweans for several days, will come to a solemn end on Monday, when the senior priest will be laid to rest at the historic Chishawasha Cemetery.
Father Chikuni, 58, went missing on September 5, prompting the Archdiocese of Harare to appeal to the public for information about his whereabouts and well-being.
Five days later, the search ended in tragedy when his body was found in the Parirenyatwa Hospital mortuary on September 9.
The Archdiocese has now announced a funeral programme that will see the late priest’s final journey begin on Sunday and culminate in his burial at one of Zimbabwe’s oldest Catholic cemeteries.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Archbishop’s Secretary, Father Ephraim Murwira, on behalf of Archbishop Robert C. Ndlovu, the Church said the body will be collected from Nyaradzo Funeral Services on Herbert Chitepo Avenue at 3 p.m. on Sunday.
It will then be taken to the Immaculate Conception and Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in New Highfields, where the Divine Office for the Dead will be held at 5:30 p.m.
A Vigil Mass will follow at 6 p.m., after which the body will lie in state as parishioners, fellow priests, relatives, and mourners keep an all-night prayer vigil.
On Monday morning, a Requiem Mass will be celebrated at 9 a.m. before Father Chikuni is taken to Chishawasha Cemetery for burial.
The Archbishop has called on all clergy and religious members of the Archdiocese to offer Masses for the repose of Father Chikuni’s soul and to pray the Divine Office for the Dead.
“Let us honour Father Regis Chikuni’s legacy of faith, love, and service. May his soul rest in eternal peace,” said the Archbishop.
His burial will also connect his story to the long history of Catholic missionary work in Zimbabwe, as Chishawasha Cemetery has served as the final resting place of priests, religious sisters, and other supporters of the Church for more than a century.
The cemetery’s earliest recorded grave is that of Father Augustus Law, who died of fever at Umzila’s kraal on November 25, 1880.
It is also the resting place of John Bradburne of Mutemwa near Mutoko, who became known for his work with people affected by leprosy.
Another section of the cemetery has crosses commemorating people who died during the liberation struggle, including seven missionaries killed at St Paul’s Mission, Musami, in the Mangwenda communal lands.
They were Sisters Epiphany Schneider, 71, Ceslaus Stiegler, 59, and Magdela Lewandowski, 42; Fathers Christopher Shepherd Smith, 33, and Martin Thomas, 45; and Brothers John Conway, 57, and Joseph Wilkinson, 58.
The seven are remembered annually on February 7 through a memorial vigil.
Also honoured at Chishawasha is C.G. Senn, the International Committee of the Red Cross representative remembered for his work to secure humane treatment, improved detention conditions, and educational opportunities for political prisoners held at Whawha, Sikombela, and Gonakudzingwa during the liberation struggle.
For Father Chikuni, Chishawasha will now be more than a historic cemetery.
It will be his final home, among generations of men and women whose lives and service are woven into the history of the Catholic Church in Zimbabwe.
