HISTORICAL GENESIS OF HOLY FAMILY NATIONAL MAJOR SEMINARY- MWENDAKULIMA
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Holy Family National Major Seminary is located at Mwendakulima in the Catholic Diocese of Kahama, Shinyanga Region, Tanzania. The Seminary was founded in 2020 by the Catholic Bishops of Tanzania (TEC). This Seminary is among the fruits of 150 Years of Evangelization in Tanzania. The gift of vocations has led to a new quest of forming future priests who will effectively respond to needs of proclaiming the Good News both locally and globally.
Hence, the rationale of founding this Seminary as stipulated in the Decree for its Establishment by the Holy See Congregation for Evangelization of Peoples (Prot. 398/21), is to form missionary disciples who in love of the Master are disciples on a journey, constantly needing an integrated formation, which leads to continuous configuration to Christ.
The Seminary is guided by the Vision of nurturing integral growth to maturity of convinced and zealous priests tuned and exposed to local and global settings for proclamation of the Good News.
Its Mission is to replicate values of Nazareth the school of the Gospel by putting emphasis on need for having a Rule of Life that is shaped by three core values, namely, well composed spirituality, manifested in interiority and recollected way of life. Secondly, the Seminary aspires to Model Communion of Love that distinguished the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Thirdly, the Seminary aims at promoting Diligent Opulence. These core values are cushioned by the Seminary Motto of “Incrementum in Mutua Caritate et Sapientia (Growth in Mutual Love and Wisdom (Luke 2:52). The aspiration of the Seminary is forming future priests capable of responding with love and wisdom to various worldly situations of proclaiming the Gospel.
Among the added values in priestly formation processes is that this is a National Major Seminary which draws students from all the Seven Metropolitans of the Church in Tanzania inclusive of members from religious congregations. As stipulated in its foundational mandate, this Seminary aspires to be a beacon of light and hope to society; preparing future priests who will be true instruments of love, unity and reconciliation. It aims at promoting priesthood as a vocation and mission, instilling values of thinking with the Church (sentire cum Ecclesia), fellowship of love and service, broadening minds of those being formed to overcome narrow sectarian or regional outlooks. In this way, it is expected that future priests will be empowered to carry out the mission of the Church in collaboration with all Agents of Evangelization across cultural, religious and social economic realities of the region and country.
The Founder intended that the Seminary caters for both Philosophical and Theological Studies. Currently the total number of seminarians is 232 and there are 9 full time formators/lecturers. For the first time in its history, the Seminary expects 92 seminarians to complete the Three Years Philosophical Studies Program during this Academic Year 2022/2023. At this stage, deliberations on how to proceed to the Theological Cycle are of crucial importance. The Seminary appeals for generosity and support in order to meet Human and Infrastructural equirements for actualization of this goal. Holy Family National Major Seminary is for the first time completing the Philosophical Cycle during this Academic Year 2022/2023.
Msgr. Pius Rutechura
Rector
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