St. Augustine's Cathedral, Mangochi
In the city of Mangochion the banks of Lake Malawi, the Catholic episcopal headquarters is not dedicated to Santa Maria, but to Saint Augustine of Hipona. La Diocese of Mangochi was erected as the Apostolic prefecture of Fort Johnston on 29 May 1969 and raised to full diocese on 17 September 1973. From its origin, it was entrusted to the Montfortian Missionaries, to the Fraganea of Blantyre, to the custody of a Catholic community rooted in the south of the country.
🌹 Wonders and anecdotes
- The diocese was born on 29 May 1969 as the Apostolic Prefecture of Fort Johnston, torn from the diocese of Zomba, and was raised to full diocese under the name Mangochi on 17 September 1973.
- Its cathedral is dedicated to San Agustín de Hipona: it is the Cathedral of San Agustín de Mangochi, confirmed by GCatholic and the list of cathedrals of Malawi.
- From its foundation the diocese was entrusted to the Montfortian Missionaries (S.M.M.), a congregation founded by Saint Louis Maria Grignion of Montfort, an apostle of Marian devotion.
- The first Prefect and first bishop was Father Alessandro Assolari, S.M.M., who ruled the headquarters from 1973 to 2004; since 2013 the diocese is entrusted to Bishop Monfort Stima, appointed by Pope Francis.
- The diocese, a suffranea of the Archdiocese of Blantyre, covers the districts of Mangochi, Balaka and part of Machinga, with about 955,000 Catholic faithful in about 25 parishes according to data from 2022.
St. Augustine's Cathedral (Marian Montrfortian diocese)
Mangochi, next to the southern end of Lake Malawi, is head of a young and missionary diocese. His cathedral is consecrated to Saint Augustine, not to the Virgin Mary; however, the Marian impulse beats in the Montfortian congregation that founded and sustains it, heir to Saint Louis Mary Grignion of Montfort, apostle of the Rosary and of the consecration to the Mother of God.
"Virgin Mary, Mother of God, who inspired St Louis Mary of Montfort on the path of total consecration to you, keeps the Church of Mangochi and consumes it for Jesus Christ your Son.
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