Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa (21 June 1939 – 8 January 2024) was a Zimbabwean Catholic prelate who was bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mutare from November 1981 until his retirement in May 2016. He was ordained a priest by Archbishop Markaal on 24 August 1968 at Mount St. Mary's Mission in Wedza in the Archdiocese of Harare. He was appointed bishop of

Umtali Mutare, formerly known as Umtali until 1982, is the capital and largest city in the province of Manicaland. It is the third most populated in Zimbabwe. Having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban population of 224,802 and approx ...

(now

Mutare Mutare, formerly known as Umtali until 1982, is the capital and largest city in the province of Manicaland. It is the third most populated in Zimbabwe. Having surpassed Gweru in the 2012 census, with an urban area, urban population of 224,802 ...

) in 1981 and was ordained as a bishop of Umtali in 1982. He retired as bishop on 28 May 2016. Bishop Muchabaiwa died on 8 January 2024, at the age of 92.

Early life and education

He was born on 21 June 1939 in

Wedza District Wedza (or Hwedza) is a district in the province of Mashonaland East, Zimbabwe. It is located about south of Marondera, and south of Harare. The area was sparsely inhabited by the Mbire people of the Soko Clan as early inhabitants who mined iron ...

Mashonaland East Mashonaland East, informally Mash East, is a province of Zimbabwe. It has an area of 32,230 km2 and a population of approximately 1.73 million (2022). Marondera is the capital of the province. Demographics The province has a history ...

, in the

Apostolic Vicariate of Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in ...

Southern Rhodesia Southern Rhodesia was a self-governing British Crown colony in Southern Africa, established in 1923 and consisting of British South Africa Company (BSAC) territories lying south of the Zambezi River. The region was informally known as South ...

. He attended Kutama Mission School, for his early education. He entered seminary in 1957, after overcoming initial parental resistance. Later in 1973 he graduated with a

Diploma A diploma is a document awarded by an educational institution (such as a college or university) testifying the recipient has graduated by successfully completing their courses of studies. Historically, it has also referred to a charter or offi ...

Pastoral Theology Pastoral theology is the branch of practical theology concerned with the application of the study of religion in the context of regular church ministry. This approach to theology seeks to give practical expression to theology. Normally viewed as ...

from the ''Ggaba National Major Seminary'' in Ggaba in Kampala,

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

. "He was ordained a priest in 1968, eleven years after joining the Seminary."

Priest

On 24 August 1968 he was ordained a priest of Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now

Zimbabwe file:Zimbabwe, relief map.jpg, upright=1.22, Zimbabwe, relief map Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Bots ...

) at the Mount St. Mary's Mission, Wedza, in the Archdiocese of Salisbury. The ceremony was led by Archbishop Francis William Markall, Archbishop of Salisbury. He served in that capacity until 5 November 1981. As a priest, he worked in various roles in different locations including: * Priest at Makumbe Mission from 1969 until 1972. * Priest at St. Mary's Parish, Highfield, Harare, Zimbabwe. * Spiritual Director of seminarians at Chishawasha Major Seminary near

Harare Harare ( ), formerly Salisbury, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of , a population of 1,849,600 as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census and an estimated 2,487,209 people in its metrop ...

. * Rector of Chishawasha Major Seminary. Wile there, he instructed Archbishop Robert Christopher Ndlovu, Bishop

Michael Dixon Bhasera Michael Dixon Bhasera, (born 11 November 1949), is a Zimbabwean Roman Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Masvingo, Zimbabwe from 1999 until his resignation in 2022. Before that, from June 1991 until Febr ...

, Bishop Martin Munyanyi and Bishop Xavier Munyongani among others. *

Vicar General A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of the Archdiocese of Harare and a chaplain to the first African Mayor of Harare,

Tizirai Gwata Tizirai Annas Gwata (born March 1943) is a medical doctor and politician who served as the first black mayor of Harare, from 1981 to 1984. He also served as a Harare city councillor for Ward 31. Gwata also lectured as the first full time black ...

Bishop

On 5 November 1981

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

appointed him the Bishop of Mutare. He was ordained as the Bishop of Mutare and installed at the Holy Trinity Cathedral,

, in the Diocese of Mutare on 21 February 1982. The Principal Consecrator was Bishop Donal Raymond Lamont, Bishop Emeritus of Umtali assisted by Archbishop Patrick Fani Chakaipa, Archbishop of Salisbury and Bishop

Tobias Wunganayi Chiginya Tobias Wunganayi Chiginya (born 5 March 1935 in Hama, Zimbabwe – 14 January 1987) was a Zimbabwean clergyman and bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and overs ...

, Bishop of Gwelo. He succeeded Bishop Donal Raymond Lamont, who resigned. Bishop Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa retired on 28 May 2016, three weeks shy of his 77th birthday. On Monday, 8 January 2024, the Right Reverend Bishop Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa, the Bishop Emeritus of Mutare, Zimbabwe died at the Murambi Gardens Clinic, Mutare. He was 92 years old. He was buried on Thursday 11 January 2024 at Trashill Mission in

Mutasa District Mutasa District is one of seven districts in Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe. Mutasa District is located 30 km northeast of Mutare and stretches up to the Honde Valley, which is about 100 km northeast of Mutare along a tarred road that b ...

Manicaland Province Manicaland is a Provinces of Zimbabwe, province in eastern Zimbabwe. After Harare Province, it is the country's second-most populous province, with a population of 2.037 million, as of the 2022 Zimbabwe census, 2022 census. Making it the third mo ...

, Zimbabwe, as he willed.

References

Succession table

External links