The Metropolitan Cathedral is the Church of St. Therese of the Child Jesus. The Cathedral, the Archbishop’s House and other surrounding church buildings are one of the prominent features of the center of Tabora town.
The Cathedral was built of local stone in 1900 in a clean and handsome architectural style. Due to cost constraints and the unavailability of precious materials for interior decoration, ingenious creativity and skill was used to hand paint traditional type finishes, including faux marble and frescoes, on the interior pillars and ceiling.
The Cathedral was re-roofed and largely renovated in 2017. In advance of the National Eucharistic Congress in 2021, two large permanent pavilions were constructed in front and to either side of the Cathedral, providing an option for larger outdoor Masses in Tabora’s mild climate. For these outdoor Masses, the altar is usually placed on the steps and landing of the Cathedral’s front door.
The Cathedral bell is still manually rung several times a day to call the faithful to Mass and to pray the Angelus.
Catholics experience the majority of their Christian lives and the sacraments in the context of their home parish. However throughout the history of the Church, an important way to enrich and strengthen faith has through pilgrimages to special sites for prayer, mediation, and retreats. Walking and climbing are embodied actions that reflect the on-going spiritual journey of the soul towards union with God. A pilgrimage to the Vatican, or the Holy Land, or Lourdes is out of reach for most rural Tanzanians. However God is everywhere, and peaceful and sacred sites can be developed and protected in every land.
In late 2022, the Archdiocese of Tabora joyfully celebrated the Consecration of the new Shrine of the Holy Trinity on a rocky outcrop (hill or mountain) about 20 kilometers from Tabora Town. Because of its elevation above the surrounding plane, the Shrine Church is very striking in appearance as you approach by road. Similarly, the views of the surrounding countryside from the Shrine and Grotto, and even to the outskirts of Tabora town are dramatic and give the pilgrim a sense of being above and removed from the hustle and bustle of daily life, at least for a time. As St. Peter said on Mount Tabor, ‘Lord it is good for us to be here.’ (Mt. 17:4).
The Shrine Church is now complete and being actively used by individuals and organized groups of religious and lay people. Christians come to pray, reflect, receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and gain new perspective on their spiritual lives. Over the coming years, the Archdiocese hopes to develop ancillary facilities, beginning with a hostel, to allow groups to stay overnight and for my extended retreats.
Tabora Archdiocese is organized into four deaneries comprising 31 parishes. Unlike in more urban countries, a canonical Parish in Tabora may cover quite a large geographical area, with a main parish church, a rectory using housing 2-3 priests and a parish office at the center. The parish may then have several or many ‘sub-parishes’ or mission churches in surrounding neighborhoods or villages. Some of these mission churches may be mud brick with a thatch roof. Most of them are simple structures of hardened brick or cement block with a metal roof. Occasionally a community may meet in a local primary school until they can construct a simple structure of their own. So the total number of Catholic worship sites in Tabora, is much larger, exceeding 700!
As a sub parish grows in the number of Christians, the dynamism of community life, and economic ability to be self-sustaining, they are encouraged to complete their Church building to a basic standard, and to construct a modest rectory, after which they may be promoted. Tabora currently has a number of missions that should meet the criteria and be raised to full parish status in the coming years.
As in other parts of the world, the Catholic Church is one of the most important institutions in Tabora for social services to all people without distinction, for education and development. The Regional Government and citizens of all religious recognize the pre-eminent contribution of the Archdiocese to human well-being in Tabora. Key initiatives and institutions include:
The Archdiocese owns and operates 19 kindergartens, 8 primary schools and 7 Secondary Schools for girls and boys. Like all Catholic social and economic initiatives, they provide education to students from all faith communities. Many non-Catholic parents value the quality, rigor, discipline and moral context provided by these schools.
Similarly the Archdiocese of Tabora owns and operates 3 major hospitals in different districts of Tabora region, and a number of smaller dispensaries/health centers. For many decades, these mission hospitals have brought care and solace to patients and their families of all faiths. In recent years, more and more government and private facilities are supplementing the care traditionally provided mainly by the Church.
Caritas shares the mission of the Catholic Church to serve the poor and to promote charity and justice throughout the world. Founded in the 1950s, Caritas translates as ‘love between peoples’ and is an integral part of the Church. Caritas Tabora is part of the Archdiocese and operates under the guidance of the archbishop.
As the Church in Tanzania becomes more and more self-sufficient, and less dependent on occasional assistance from abroad, many parishes and Church institutions operate small enterprises including a canteen/restaurant in Tabora town, hostels, corn milling machines, rice husking machines, pork, chicken and dairy farming, stationary stores, small grocery stores and other small enterprises. These enterprises normally take advantage of the land and strategic locations of Church properties. They not only provide some modest income to help cover costs, but they also provide employment, convenience and needed services to surrounding populations.
In 2010, the Archbishop Mihayo University College was established as a constituent college of St. Augustine University of Tanzania, established by the country’s Catholic Bishops. One of the most influential thinkers and saints in the western church, and indeed in western civilization, St. Augustine of Hippo was a north African of the Berber people and is rightly honored throughout Africa.
AMUCTA brings college level courses and qualifications in education, law and education, with a particular focus on special needs education. This specialization builds on the long history of the Archdiocese in working with special needs students, especially the hearing impaired. The AMUCTA urban campus currently located on the grounds of the School for the Hearing Impaired. Land has been acquired and is presently being developed for a larger campus at Kazima, on the outskirts of Tabora town.
The village of Kipalapala ‘an hour’s walk from Tabora’ is the site of St. Paul Senior Seminary, the oldest in Tanzania and surrounding countries. Owned by the Catholic Bishops of Tanzania (the Tanzania Episcopal Conference), Kipalapala is now one of three major seminaries offering the four-year theology program is one of the advanced stages in the preparation for priestly formation. Kipalapala Seminary was founded by the Missionaries of Africa (White Fathers) in 1908 and moved to its current site in 1925. It originally served students from Zambia, Malawi and Kenya as well as Tanzania.
Like other seminaries in the region, Kipalapala is now ‘bursting at seams’ with a surge in vocations. One new dormitory has been constructed but has not been sufficient to keep up with the demand. According to Vatican statistics, one in every four young men currently training for the Priesthood is African. The number of Priestly vocations is rising, year on year. It is estimated that one in every four seminarians in the world is now in Africa.
St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, owned and operated by the Archdiocese of Tabora has just celebrated its centenary anniversary at its current site of Itaga. Very few institutions in Tabora can point to 100 years of continuous history! The seminary is a fine boarding secondary school for over 250 boys, and provides for spiritual, intellectual and human formation lead by a faculty of both priests and lay teachers. Traditionally, a number of Itaga students go onto a Senior Seminary and formation as priests of the Archdiocese, while a larger number remain well-formed lay Christians who go on to serve in Government, Commerce and other sectors.
As part of its anniversary commemorations, Itaga has been undertaking significant renovations and improvements of its physical plant and campus.
The Tanganyika Mission Press (TMP) was also established by the Missionaries of Africa at Kipalapala in 1890 and is now owned by the Tanzania Episcopal Conference. Operated by the Benedictine Monks of Hanga Abbey, TMP is involved in the publishing and printing of liturgical, devotional and catechetical works in Swahili including the Roman Missal, the lectionary and the Annual Ordo used in Parishes throughout Tanzania. The TMP Bookshop in the center of Tabora Town, provides convenient access to customers.
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