State funeral for the late Archbishop Ziyaye
By admin
The body of the late Archbishop of Lilongwe Tarcisius Ziyaye will arrive in the country this Thursday through Kamuzu International Airport (KIA) at around14:30 hours after he died at a hospital in Namibia on Monday. He was 71.
But Catholic Church communication coordinator Fr. Louis Chikanya said in a media statement that the main solemn Requiem Mass will be on Friday at Civo Stadium since it will be State funeral.
Maula Parish council had an emergency meeting on Wednesday evening chaired by Monsignor Patrick Thawale, who was vicar general of the Archdiocese of Lilongwe during Ziyaye’s tenure, where it was confirmed that Ziyaye’s remains are expected to arrive through KIA at 14:30 hours.
According the minutes of the meeting, Small Christian Communities (miphakati) are requested to organise themselves to be at the airport to welcome the body.
“The body will then be taken to Mthunzi Funeral Parlour from the airport for further preparation,” reads part of the minutes.
According to the minutes, from the airport, the body will be taken to Poor Clares Chapel where the first mass will be conducted.
After the mass from the Poor Clares Chapel, the body will be taken to Maula cathedral where it will lie in state and several masses will be conducted throughout the night.
Main requiem mass will be at Civo stadium at 09:00 hours on Friday and after the Civo stadium mass, the body will be taken back to the cathedral.
Meanwhile, Government through the Public Events office is in discussions with the Church on the burial programme.
According to the meeting, the body will be buried within the cathedral premises since he was a serving bishop.
Described as humble by many, Ziyaye was ordained priest on August 14 1977.
He was appointed auxiliary bishop of Diocese of Dedza on November 26 1991 before becoming bishop of Lilongwe on May 4 1993. On January 23 2001, he became archbishop of the Archdiocese of Blantyre.
From July 3 2013, Ziyaye was appointed archbishop of the newly declared Archbishop of Lilongwe, a position he served until his death on Monday.
Source: https://www.nyasatimes.com/state-funeral-for-archbishop-ziyaye-body-arrives-on-thursday-burial-saturday
