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 February 1999 he was Bishop of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Gokwe The Roman Catholic Diocese of Gokwe () is a suffragan diocese in the city of Gokwe in the ecclesiastical province of Harare in Zimbabwe. History * June 17, 1991: Established as Diocese of Gokwe from Diocese of Hwange Bishops # Michael Dixon ...

, Zimbabwe. He served as

Apostolic Administrator An apostolic administration in the Catholic Church is administrated by a prelate appointed by the pope to serve as the ordinary for a specific area. Either the area is not yet a diocese (a stable 'pre-diocesan', usually missionary apostolic admi ...

of the diocese of Gweru from April 2012 until June 2013 and from October 2017 until October 2020. He was appointed bishop by

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 ...

in 1991. He resigned from pastoral service on 19 July 2022 at the age of 72 years and 7 months of age. He lives on as Archbishop Emeritus of Masvingo, Zimbabwe.

Background and priesthood

He was born on 11 November 1949, at Gutu,

Masvingo Province Masvingo, previously named Victoria, is a province in southeastern Zimbabwe. It has a population of 1.638 million as of the 2022 census, ranking fifth out of Zimbabwe's ten provinces. Established by the British South Africa Company, it was one o ...

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 ...

. He studied both

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

before he was ordained a priest in August 1978.

Priest

He was ordained a priest on 19 August 1978. He served in that capacity until 17 June 1991.

As bishop

On 17 June 1991,

appointed Reverend Father Michael Dixon Bhasera as Bishop of the

in Zimbabwe. He was consecrated and installed at the ''Uganda Martyrs Church'', Gokwe, in the Diocese of Gokwe on 19 October 1991. The Principal Consecrator was Bishop Francis Xavier Mugadzi, Bishop of Gweru assisted by Archbishop Giacinto Berloco, Titular Archbishop of

Fidenae Fidenae () was an ancient town of Latium, situated about 8 km north of Rome on the '' Via Salaria''. Its inhabitants were known as Fidenates. As the Tiber was the border between Etruria and Latium, the left-bank settlement of Fidenae represent ...

and Bishop Ignacio Prieto Vega, Bishop of Hwange. He served there in that capacity until 9 February 1999. On 9 February 1999 the Holy Father created the Roman Catholic Diocese of Masvingo. The Pope appointed him as the pioneer bishop of the new Ordinary See. He served there in that capacity until 19 July 2022, when he resigned. While bishop at Masvingo, he served as Apostolic Administrator of the diocese of Gweru from April 2012 until June 2013 and from October 2017 until October 2020.

References

Succession table

External links