The Bishop of Tzaneen Diocese says the theme for the Feast Day of Blessed Tshimangadzo Samuel Benedict Daswa is ‘Blessed Daswa the Farmer.’

The theme “of the feast day this year is Blessed Daswa the farmer. We know that he was a teacher, he was a principal of a school… We know that he grew up in a rural area and even as a child he learned how to herd cattle and so on,” said Bishop João Rodrigues in an interview with the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference (SACBC) Communication Office.

He added, “Even as an adult, he worked on his vegetable garden that was there belonging to his family and so on, and it was a very important part of his life, the farm also became a place for young people to learn to become more self-sustaining in their life, especially the poor children who sometimes were not able to afford to pay for education. He would send them to the farm to do some cultivation and so on. And in that way, they also paid for their education.”

On Thursday, February 1, hundreds of pilgrims gathered in Tshitanini, the place of Beatification to celebrate the South African Martyr. In his homily, Archbishop Dabula Mpako of Pretoria Metropolitan Archdiocese said the Feast Day of Blessed Benedict Daswa “should be for us a time of reflection and renewal in our own personal lives.”

“It must be a time for us to examine ourselves and see where we stand at the present moment regarding our calling to be prophets of God in the world in which we live… May Blessed Benedict Daswa continue to be a shining star that guides us on our way so that we may ever grow in becoming true and faithful disciples of Jesus Christ, who upon coming into the world said, “Here am I, Lord, I come to do your will,” said Archbishop Mpako.

In the interview with the SACBC Communication Office, Bishop Rodrigues said the Diocese is looking forward to the upcoming youth, men, and women pilgrimages and encouraged the people of God to participate.