By Elena Mupandawana
On Monday, 8 January 2024, the Catholic community of Zimbabwe was plunged into mourning when the Diocese of Mutare lost its bishop, the Rt. Rev. Bishop Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa. He passed on peacefully at Murambi Gardens Clinic in Mutare, leaving behind a grieving community that had to deal with yet another tragic loss barely a year after the death of Bishop Emeritus Angel Floro of Gokwe Diocese.
Bishop Alexio Muchabaiwa was born in 1939 in Hwedza under the headman Chigwedere in the chief Svosve area. He was the fifth child in a family of six children, five boys and one girl. His parents named him ‘Churu,’ which means anti-hill, as they thought he would not live long after they had suffered the death of their first-born child in infancy. Fortunately, he survived.
He obtained his education at Kutama Mission, and when he expressed an interest in becoming a priest, his parents tried to stop him by having him herd cattle at home and discouraging him from pursuing the priesthood. However, he was ordained a priest in 1968, eleven years after joining the Seminary in 1957.
Bishop Alexio Muchabaiwa worked in Makumbe Mission from 1969 to 1972, replacing the then Fr. Patrick Chakaipa. He obtained a Diploma in Pastoral Theology in 1973 at Gaba Institute in Uganda and was then assigned to St. Mary’s Highfield together with the late Fr. Isidore Chikore. Later, he became a Spiritual Director of Seminarians at Chishawasha Major Seminary when the late Fr. Tobias Chiginya was a Rector. After Fr. Chiginya was appointed to lead the Diocese of Gweru as its Bishop, Bishop Alexio Muchabaiwa became Rector of Chishawasha Seminary. Among his students were Archbishop Robert Ndlovu, Bishop Michael Bhasera, the late Bishop Martin Munyanyi and the late Bishop Xavier Munyongani.
Bishop Alexio Muchabaiwa became the Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Harare and a chaplain to the first African Mayor of Harare, Dr. Tizirai Gwata. As a Vicar General, he was tasked by Archbishop Chakaipa to consecrate the National Heroes Acre and officiate the burial of the first two liberation war heroes at the National Shrine, Josiah Tongogara and Jason Ziyapapa Moyo in 1980.
In 1981, he received a letter of appointment from St. Pope John Paul II to become the Bishop of Mutare. Being a man of humility, he accepted the appointment and promised to do his best to bring the people together through evangelization. He was ordained as the Bishop of Umtali in 1982, taking over from Bishop Donald Lamont, his predecessor.
As a campaigner of justice, Bishop Alexio Muchabaiwa had a deep concern for the formation of priests and religious, urging others to avoid abuse in all its different forms. He believed that “there is a need for human dignity and the Church to be the pioneer in protecting this. Moreover, there is a need to work hard in the formation of priests and religious to create a better environment that protects human dignity to prevent abuse of all kinds so that evangelization prevails when there is good formation.”
Bishop Alexio Muchabaiwa retired in 2016 and was succeeded by Bishop Paul Horan, the current Bishop of Mutare Diocese. He had been the President of the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops Conference for two terms and had held several positions at the Zimbabwe Catholic Bishops’ Conference (ZCBC). He also served as Bishop Chairman for different Commissions at Africa Synod House throughout the years he served as a Bishop.
Bishop Alexio Muchabaiwa celebrated his golden jubilee to the priesthood on 17 November 2018, reflecting on his life and saying, “I have always found prayer as the most important element of my priesthood; I pray that I become a saint one day.” Throughout his life, he was a principled man who bequeathed the faithful with the principle of ‘self-reliance of the local Church.’ He wished the Church in Zimbabwe, particularly, to continue to grow and provide religious, social, cultural, and economic development in Zimbabwe.