21/05/2026
THE SIMPLE COFFIN OF A SHEPHERD
wooden coffin.
A cross resting quietly upon it.
The Holy Gospel placed above him.
No luxury.
No display of power.
Just faith.
And perhaps that is the Church’s final lesson to us.
Because in Catholic funeral rites,
a bishop is buried not as a ruler of the world,
but as a servant of Christ.
The Gospel is placed on the coffin because he spent his life preaching it.
The cross remains near him because he carried it faithfully until the end.
“Dziko lapansi ndi la ulendo.”
(This world is a journey.)
And today,
that journey reaches its earthly end.
Last night, Catholics gathered around him.
Choirs sang through tears.
Priests stood quietly in purple vestments of mourning.
The Church kept vigil beside its shepherd,
because Catholics do not abandon their dead ,
we accompany them with prayer until the final farewell.
“M’manda simupita udindo.”
(To the grave, no title goes with you.)
And suddenly,
that simple coffin preached louder than many sermons.
A man who advised presidents.
A man who defended the voiceless.
A man who spoke truth when silence was safer.
Now resting in plain wood.
And Catholics understand the message deeply: before God,
humility is greater than status.
“Mtengo ukagwa, phokoso limamveka kutali.”
(When a big tree falls, the sound is heard from afar.)
The sound of this loss
has reached far beyond the Catholic Church.
Because he was not only a bishop to Catholics.
He became a moral voice for the nation.
A defender of justice.
A shepherd who refused to abandon ordinary people.
And today,
that voice falls silent.
“Chilonda cha mumtima sichioneka, koma chimapweteka.”
(A wound of the heart cannot be seen, but it pains deeply.)
That is the pain inside many Catholics this morning.
The Cathedral will fill again today.
Incense will rise one final time over his body.
Prayers of commendation will be offered.
Holy water and incense , signs of baptism and reverence , will accompany the final rites as the Church entrusts his soul to God.
And when the final hymns are sung,
the earth will gently receive
a servant who spent his life serving others.
“Mulungu amaitana ake pa nthawi yake.”
(God calls His own at His appointed time.)
Today, heaven calls home
a shepherd.
A father.
A voice of the voiceless.
And Catholics, though heartbroken,
will still kneel and whisper:
“Go well, Archbishop.”
Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord.
And let perpetual light shine upon him.
Amen.
