The decision that members of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops' Conference (ZCBC) made to turn St. Augustine’s Seminary into a mixed Secondary School has been implemented, and first enrolment to the Catholic institution of learning is ongoing.
In a Wednesday, December 6 report, the Secretary General of ZCBC, Fr. Tryvis Moyo, outlines the implementation of the Catholic Bishops’ decision on the Major Seminary that had not been in operation since 2016.
Fr. Moyo says, “The Bishops decided at their administrative meeting held in Masvingo in August 2023 to turn the former seminary into a private college. Since then, efforts have been made to renovate the place, hire the school head, an administrator, and teachers.”
“St. Augustine’s school will open its doors in January 2024 with Forms 1,2,3 and 5. The recruitment of the school head and teachers is complete and the school is busy with the enrolment of learners,” he adds about the Catholic entity in Zimbabwe’s Bulawayo Archdiocese.
The Secretary General of ZCBC continues, “Although the school is located in the Archdiocese of Bulawayo, it belongs to the Bishops’ Conference.”
The report that was published December 6 provides background information to the Catholic institution that offered philosophy courses to Major Seminarians in Zimbabwe.
“St. Augustine’s Seminary, which was built to enhance the proper formation of local Priests was closed in 2016 due to the decline of vocations to the Priesthood. The whole faculty of philosophy was moved back to Chishawasha Major Seminary,” the report indicates.
The expenses involves in running “two half-empty Seminaries” were prohibitive, a situation that prompted ZCBC members to close St. Augustine’s Seminary, the report further indicates.
The report goes on to highlight earlier attempts to utilize the premises. “When St. Augustine’s closed as Seminary, the Catholic University of Zimbabwe (CUZ) moved in for about five years and later left, leaving the complex unoccupied. This resulted in the decision to turn it into a private school by the Bishops.”
The new Secondary School is set “to offer holistic education informed by Catholic ethos”, the report indicates, adding that the institution will be guided by the motto, ‘Sapienta, Amor et veritas’, “which speaks of Hope, Love and Truth.
“While the school fulfills the Church’s goal to provide a quality education that targets the formation of the whole person, the initiative will also support the local Church’s financial needs,” the December 6 report further indicates.