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By Eric Norman Mkwaira

On Saturday 28th January 2023, the Archbishop of Lilongwe Archdiocese His Grace George Desmond Tambala was given the Sacred Pallium at Maula Cathedral in Lilongwe, Malawi as symbol of authority, service and communion with the Pope.

Archbishop Tambala professing the faith before reception of the Sacred Pallium

The Nuncio conferring Pallium to His Grace George Desmond Tambala

The Sacred Pallium was conferred by His Excellency the Apostolic Nuncio to Zambia and Malawi, Archbishop Gianfranco Gallone who also bid farewell to the congregation that gathered in the cathedral as he will be serving in Uruguay.

The event was graced by all the bishops of Malawi including Archbishop Thomas Luke Msusa of the Archdiocese of Blantyre. In attendance was also the Vice President of the Republic of Malawi Dr Saulos Klaus Chilima and his wife Madam Mary Chilima and other government dignitaries.

Archbishop Msusa delivering the homily at the conferral of the Pallium

In his homily, Archbishop Thomas Msusa said the leader should have the smell of the sheep that he shepherds because it is the meaning of the Pallium. And he continued to say that a leader, the Archbishop, should admonish the people that are involved in evils and should stick to the truth even if there may be fears of arrests. He lamented the suffering of the poor people in the villages that they fail to get farm inputs because of the failure of our political leaders to properly and fairly administer the Agricultural Input Programme AIP in the country.

In his remarks the Papal Nuncio encouraged Archbishop Tambala to depend on the care and support of God as he manifests the love of Christ. In his special address to the faithful, he acknowledged and felt with them the struggle that they go through in life. He however exhorted them to surrender to the care of the Holy Trinity.

“The life of the christians is the life of struggles, it is not easy. But the struggle is to maintain alive our faith not double life standards that during the day you go to church and at night you go to the diviners.”

In his conclusion, the Nuncio asked for prayers from the faithful and the clergy as he goes to work in another country.

The Pallium is made from the wool of the sheep, and the crosses on the Pallium means that the Archbishop should suffer with the people that he leads. Every Archbishop is given the Pallium on the feast of Sts Peter and Paul in the Vatican and it is conferred to him in his own Archdiocese by the Apostolic Nuncio in that region.