Coat of Arms of Bishop Frank Atese Nubuasah SVD
MOTTO:
SERVUS DOMINI (Servant of the Lord)THE DOVE LOOKING DOWN ON THE OPEN BIBLE
This symbolizes the gift of the Holy Spirit to all humanity. The spirit is the one who gives life and meaning to the Word of God. Our lives as Christians are moulded and guided by the word which was inspired by the spirit.
BLUE BACKGROUND IN THE PANEL
Symbolizes rain/water (pula). In Botswana due to climate conditions, the value of rain is highly appreciated by all. Rain gives life and is a gift from God. It will seek the inspiration of the spirit and guidance of God’s word in my life and ministry. I desire all the people to know God’s word and live by it.
TWO HANDS AND A BROKEN CHAIN
This is a symbol of emancipation. We who were slaves to sin and addictions of all sorts have been offered freedom in Jesus Christ. In Jesus we have salvation and freedom of the children of God.
A HEAD BOY (COW BOY) AND TWO COWS
This symbolizes the rich culture, wealth and tradition of the people of Botswana. We help build the kingdom of God in the concrete life situations among specific groups of people whose culture and traditions form the field (ground) in which the seed of the Christian faith is planted and nurtured.
BISHOP FRANK ATESE NUBUASAH
His Lordship, Bishop Frank Atese Nubuasah SVD, is the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Gaborone and also the Bishop of the Diocese of Fracistown. He was born the fourth child of Mr. Joseph Nubuasah and Mrs. Dora Nubuasah on the 7th June 1949 in Likpe Agbozome a village in Ghana. The family comprises of four girls and four boys. The bishop is the firth boy, of his four sisters, one a Religious Sister of the Local diocesan Congregation of Handmaids of the Divine Redeemer (HDR) and she is a nurse by profession.
Frank Nubuasah was educated in his home village and Kadjebi where he did his secondary education. After working for a year he decided to join the Divine Word Missionaries (SVD). Completing his seminary formation at the Regional Seminary in Tamale, Ghana he was ordained on the 26th of July 1980. Together with another priest from his parish, they were the first priests of the parish.
Soon after his ordination, he was missioned to Botswana as one of the initial four of four SVD missionaries to start working in the country. After language learning , he spent the next eight years in Maun trying to establish the church. He was later recalled to Ghana to assist in the formation of novices. He did two years of post-graduate course at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh earning the Masters Arts Degree. Returning home, he was Master of novices until he was appointed Bishop of the newly created Apostolic Vicariate of Francistown in 1998.
CLOSE WINDOWBISHOP VALENTINE TSAMMA SEANE
His Lordship, Bishop Emeritus, Tsamma Valentine Seane is the third bishop of the Diocese of Gaborone. He was born in Lobatse. From 1986 to 1993 he attended St. John Vianney Major Seminary in Pretoria in South Africa. In this period Bishop Seane did (Philosophical and Theological studies) a full training for priesthood of eight years in which he got a diploma in Philosophy and degree in Theology. On the 19th March 1994 he was ordained a priest in Lobatse.
In his illustrious tertiary career Bishop Seane also attend Alphonsiana University in Rome, Italy where he graduated Magna Cum Laude receiving a Licentiate in Moral Theology/Ethics. Since his ordination into priesthood Bishop Seane has worked in the Diocese of Pretoria. He has also been a lecturer in Ethics at St. John Vianney Major Seminary in Pretoria. These are just some of the positions Bishop Seane has held in his illustrious career.
In 2001 he came back to Botswana and was made Rector of the St. Charles Lwanga Minor Seminary, he was the also the Parish Priest of St. Joseph Kgale, Chaplain of St. Joseph’s College and the Vocational Director, whose chief duty it was to promote vocations to priesthood. On the 25th of April 2009 he was ordained the Bishop the Diocese of Gaborone.
One of his vision and priority on becoming a Bishop is to see the Catholics grow deeper in the understanding of their faith through revival programmes and Catechesis.
CLOSE WINDOWBISHOP URBAN CHARLES JOSEPH MURPHY CP
His Lordship, Bishop Urban Charles Joseph Murphy was the first Roman Catholic Prefect Apostolic and Bishop in Botswana. He was born in 12 July 1919 in Dublin, the capital city of Ireland, and died on 27th February 1981. He was the oldest son in a family of six children. He went to a school run by the Irish Christian Brothers. This was a very important thing for him in his later ministry. Shortly after finishing his Secondary School education in 1938, he joined the religious order of the Passionist Congregation founded by St. Paul of the Cross. He did normal studies there and was ordained a priest on the 25th May 1945. His main work was preaching. He is remembered as a good preacher. He preached in Ireland and in Scotland. He liked preaching very much.
He was among the first group of Catholic priests who came to Botswana in 1952. He did not come on his own but was appointed by the Vatican. There were eight missionaries altogether four priests and four sisters. They arrived in Botswana on 7th February 1952. Two of his colleagues, namely Fr. Theodore and Fr. Norbert, took over the running of St. Joseph’s College. Fr. Carthage went to Ramotswa Mission. Murphy went to Francistown to open a new frontier in missionary work. He was the first Catholic missionary to plant the Catholic Church in Francistown. At that time prior to 1959, there was no diocese and no resident bishop in Botswana. The southern part of the country came under the bishopric of Kimberley while the northern part was under the bishopric of Bulawayo. The western part of the country was under the bishopric of Windhoek in South West Africa (now Namibia).
A vicariate is an autonomous area with its own Bishop but which has not yet reached a population of Catholics to be declared a full diocese. On the 27 April 1959 the Vatican decided that Bechuanaland Protectorate should now be declared a Prefecture Apostolic and thereby be independent from the three authorities outside Botswana. Father Urban Charles John Murphy C.P who was then the Priest in Charge of Our Lady of Desert Mission in Francistown was appointed the Prefect Apostolic and as such the administrator of the Prefecture.
According to Fr. Demort O’Caroll, Murphy was a man full of energy. Within a year, he had gathered together several priests and sisters to assist him in his missionary venture. He succeeded in building a church and a school in Francistown. The policy of the Church was always to have a school as a means of establishing contacts with young people. Murphy was essentially a pastor who visited his people regularly, particularly the sick. He always liked to be with people. Because of his love for people, he was nicknamed “Morata batho” meaning “he who loves people.” He worked in Francistown for more than ten years where he laid a strong foundation for the future development of the Catholic Church in that part of the country. Later, he came down to continue missionary work in Gaborone. In 1959, Bechuanaland was raised to the status of a Prefecture by Pope John XXIII and Murphy was appointed the first Apostolic Prefect. In 1966, the Prefecture was raised to the status of a diocese and Murphy became the first bishop of the new diocese.
His vision for the Catholic Church in Botswana was fuelled by a burning zeal to spread the gospel everywhere in the country. However, he wanted to do this by cooperating with not competing with other churches, especially in the latter years of his life. His vision consisted of preaching the Word of God in the widest sense. He was not just a preacher, he was also a visionary. He encouraged local vocations. In that way, inspired by the Holy Spirit, Bishop Murphy C.P saw the need to found a local Religious Congregation which would work for the evangelization of the people of Botswana. He was a member of the Passionist Congregation, founded by St. Paul of the Cross, and he sought the assistance of the Cross and Passion Sisters in the formation and building of this young Congregation. He was a man deeply endowed with a great love for the people and he desired only the best for them. At this time, Botswana was about to get its independence and Bishop Murphy wanted the Church to grow side by side with the country. He obtained all the necessary permission and the new Congregation, which he called "The Handmaids of the Sacred Passion" received official approval from Rome on the feast of St. Paul of the Cross April 28th 1963. (20th October).
Murphy also encouraged young men to go for training to become priests. Central to his vision was his determination to establish local leaders for the church. This desire led to the appointment of Bishop Setlalekgosi soon after Murphy’s death.
Murphy had a good working relationships with his clergy. He was dynamic, both spiritually and socially. He was approachable by everybody. He frequented the hospital every day, visiting the sick in the community and imparting to them faith and a sense of hope. He strove to make the local church self-supporting but he did this gradually and not forcefully because this was a nascent church that needed a lot of care and nurturing. Those who knew him well have described him as very informal in his relationships with people. He was not pompous. He was relaxed and had a great sense of humor.
Murphy was a divine gift to the ecumenical movement in Botswana. Interviewees for this article described Murphy as having a strong ecumenical spirit. He was popular with all the churches and got along well with them. He was good at raising funds for social development. The Second Vatican Council convinced him and the other clergy to embrace the ecumenical spirit. There was no dissent among the clergy when he proposed that the church should join the Botswana Christian Council. There was no resistance among the laity either. Roman Catholic Christians took it very well. This may be because Batswana are, by nature, ecumenical. This can be seen in their cooperation during funerals, weddings, and other religious and social events. The feeling of antagonism towards other churches was not very pronounced among Batswana Catholics and they went along with Murphy’s move to embrace ecumenism. The antagonism came mainly from the old generation of missionaries.
In 1971, Murphy became chairman of the Christian Service Committee of the Botswana Christian Council, a position he held for many years until the time of his death. As a result of his strong ecumenical zeal, he brought the Roman Catholic Church into the fold of the ecumenical movement thus giving the movement in Botswana a unique inter-denominational spirit.
In the country as a whole, Murphy contributed greatly towards the social development of the Batswana, mainly in the area of education and in the provision of health services. He brought into the country a number of well-qualified medical and nursing personnel who worked at many health centres such as Ramotswa and Kgale. In this way, he enhanced the health of the people in the country. As part of his social program, he started the Commercial School in Gaborone and enabled St. Joseph’s College at Kgale to grow from strength to strength.
Murphy was not a controversial figure when it came to matters of church and state. He maintained good relationships with various people in government. He was a great friend of Sir Seretse Khama and worked cordially with the government. He was not a confrontational man. He wanted to dialogue with people quietly in the background. He never made public statements and many issues affecting the life of the church were resolved through pastoral letters. In the spirit of a true ecumenist, he was very much a reconciler and did not like controversy.
Murphy was very diplomatic towards local chiefs and government officials. He was also respectful of the local culture. He was open-minded towards local cultures without condemning them. This enabled him to go along with the process of contextualization by grounding the gospel in the cultures of the local people. This process led to changes in worship such as the use of Setswana in the liturgy and the use of local tunes in church music. What was even more significant is that he did not look down on African Independent Churches. Rather, he was amused at the kind of life they led and at the teachings in the New Religious Movements. Murphy was active up to the time of his death at the age of 62.
CLOSE WINDOWBISHOP BONIFACE TSHOSA SETLALEKGOSI
His Lordship, Bishop Emeritus, Boniface Tshosa Setlalekgosi is the second bishop of the Diocese of Gaborone. Setlalekgosi – a – Powana was born in Serowe on the 14th of September 1927. He is the second child of Mr. and Mrs. Tshosa Setlalekgosi. The family moved to Mmaphashalala in the Central District. He was educated at the St. Joseph’s Institution for both the Primary and Secondary level of education. St. Joseph’s institution has evolved to be the modern St. Joseph’s College that we all know. This college is one of the two Catholic Secondary Schools in the country that are providing quality education to the nation.
While at the St. Joseph’s institution, he accepted the Christian faith taught by the Catholic missionaries and became a Catholic. Soon after completing his schooling, he took up the position of being a Catechist and worked for three years in Francistown. He was at the Our Lady of the Desert Catholic Church as the teacher of the faith to people and the first assistant to the missionary priests. It was challenging times where transportation was not easy and it took time to get from one village to another. Going Maun took three days if lucky to get a ride on a public vehicle. His normal mode transport was a bicycle.
Hearing the call of God while at prayer to serve the church as a priest, he made the bold decision to enter the seminary to the chagrin of the parents. With explanation and a little persuasion from the young man, the parents gave in to his request and released him to follow his vocation. In 1957 he went to Chishawasha in the then Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) to study for the priesthood. He spent seven years in formation. On the 22nd of July 1963 he was ordained a Catholic priest in Francistown. After ordination, Fr. Boniface returned to the seminary to do one more year of studies known as the Pastoral year as was the norm at the time. Upon his return in 1964, he was appointed as Assistant Parish Priest of the Our Lady of the Desert Parish in Francistown. Having worked for 8 years in Francistown, he was transferred to Gaborone and appointed to the Christ the King Cathedral as the Administrator. In 1974, he was appointed a Monsignor by Pope Paul VI. He worked closely with the late Bishop Urban Murphy, CP of blessed memory. At the death of the first bishop of Gaborone, Pope Saint. John Paul II appointed Fr. Boniface Setlalekgosi as the second bishop of Gaborone. He was ordained on the 6th of March 1982 in the National Stadium.
Bishop Boniface is the second Motswana to be ordained a Catholic priest after Fr. Motsumi, OMI. He was the first priest to be ordained in Botswana. He is second Bishop of Gaborone and the first Motswana to be appointed Bishop in the Catholic Church. Under his leadership the Catholic church grew in leaps and bounds in the country. From a few parishes along the railway line, we grew to all corners of the country. There is hardly a place where one would not find a Catholic Church or a Catholic. This is due to the missionary drive of our late Father and Patriarch. His love of pastoral work saw him in remote areas visiting the small pockets of Catholics scattered in the country. He was a shepherd par excellence. He knew and visited most of these villages.
Bishop Setlalekgosi welcomed the Pope St. John Paul II to Botswana during the historic visit of a Catholic Pontiff in 1988. He has travelled wide and far in search of support for the young church in Botswana. He sourced the help of the older churches overseas for personnel (priests, Brothers and Sisters) to come and minister to the people. He sourced for financial aid to support the work of evangelization. In his ministry he has supported the social development of the country through his passion for the upliftment of the lives of the poor. He loved the underprivileged and focused part of his attention and energy on the Basarwa, starting pre-schools and cooperatives for them. This program continues even up to today. He initiated and started with the cooperation of the Ministry of Education the feeding scheme in primary schools during the great drought of the 1980’s. Bishop Setlalekgosi foresaw the growth and development of the two Catholic Secondary Schools in the country, St. Joseph and Mater Spei Colleges from small institutions to very large ones. It is fair to say that these two colleges are among the best if not the best in the country. He also encouraged the continuation of the 9 Catholic Primary schools nationwide.
Under his leadership and encouragement, the Church started Day Care Centres all over the country as offer to children whose parents are not able to send them to the private institutions that exist. Obituary As a young energetic and dynamic priest, he was involved in the starting of a Study Group in Francistown to promote education. When things were hard, and the group was almost disbanded, the then, Fr. Setlalekgosi stood up to support it. He sourced the necessary financial and material things needed for the group to continue. It was in recognition of his sacrifices and vision that the school was later named after him, the Setlalekgosi Secondary School. Not satisfied with what the church was doing in the education and formational field, he supported the establishment of the Pabalelong Hospice for the sick in Metsimotlabe. Currently, it is the only such institution in the country providing care. As a moral voice in the country, he spoke out clearly against the law that was being proposed to permit abortion in the 1990s. He stood for life and proposed the value of human life from birth to death as a value worthy of the nation. Bishop Boniface Setlalekgosi was a member of the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference that comprises of bishops from Botswana, Swaziland and South Africa. He held different portfolios in the conference. He was a much-appreciated person for his humility and wisdom.
Bishop Setlalekgosi served as the only Catholic Bishop in Botswana for 16 years until the Diocese of Gaborone was divided and the Diocese of Francistown was created in 1998. In 1974, the late President Sir Seretse Khama honoured Bishop Setlalekgosi with the Presidential Honour of Meritorious Service. His Excellency President Lieutenant General Dr. Seretse Khama Ian Khama also honour the Bishop with an award in 2009. We remember him as a good and loving pastor who was always willing to lay down his life for the flock of God that was put under his care. He worked very hard to deepen the faith, building on the solid foundation that the missionaries had laid. He was a gentle man of integrity who got along with almost everybody. He kept the confidence of people. He was a trusted counsellor. We remember him as a humble, holy man of God who never tired of serving his people. Even after he retired his post of bishop of Gaborone, he continued to do pastoral work as a priest until his death. We remember his as a gentle, humble, loving, committed, long serving and holy person that we have come to know. He was a revered person. He was a really true human being, a proud Motswana, a great Christian and a staunch Catholic.
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