AFRICA/MOZAMBIQUE – Diocese suspends festive celebrations in memory of Father Osório Citora Afonso

Quelimane – In an official statement addressed to the clergy, delegates of the Conference of Religious Institutes of Mozambique in Quelimane, religious institutes, and apostolic movements, the Diocese of Quelimane has ordered the suspension of all festive and patronal celebrations until the Solemnity of Christ the King on November 22. The document, issued by the Diocesan Secretariat for Pastoral Coordination, was signed by the Diocesan Director for Pastoral Coordination, Father Raciel de Lurdes Jaime Ualaque, and approved by Apostolic Administrator Estêvão Ângelo Fernando. The measure comes in response to the profound grief and difficult circumstances facing Zambézia Province following the violent death of Bishop Osório Citora Afonso, IMC, who was shot dead in his residence on June 6.

According to the diocesan statement, all festive celebrations will remain suspended until the Solemnity of Christ the King on November 22. The celebration of the sacraments will continue as usual, but in a sober manner, without their usual festive character. The statement also provides that on the sixth day of every month, all parishes and missions in the Diocese will celebrate a Mass for the repose of the soul of Bishop Osório as a sign of remembrance and communion. The Diocese further calls for an intensification of prayer and Eucharistic adoration in parishes, Christian communities, and religious houses, so that the faithful may find support and consolation in their faith during this period of mourning. In its concluding message, the Diocese calls for understanding, unity, and cooperation among all Christians, urging the faithful to persevere in prayer and to cherish the memory of the Bishop of Quelimane, whose tragic death has deeply affected the Catholic Church in Zambézia Province.

Meanwhile, investigations into the bishop’s brutal murder are continuing. On July 3, Pope Leo XIV received Archbishop Inácio Saure, I.M.C., Metropolitan Archbishop of Nampula and President of the Episcopal Conference of Mozambique , in audience. He was accompanied by Archbishop João Carlos Hatoa Nunes, Metropolitan Archbishop of Maputo and Vice President of the CEM, and Archbishop Emeritus Claudio Dalla Zuanna, S.C.I., of Beira, to review the progress of the ongoing investigation.

The Consolata Missionaries, the religious institute to which Bishop Osório belonged, have publicly remembered him as a “martyr of the Faith.”

Read original article