In his homily, Rt. Rev. Bp. Rogath Kimaryo,CSSp., of the Catholic Diocese of Same, praised Bishop Augustino for a celebration of 25 years of great achievements in Zanzibar as a whole, thanks to his heroic leadership. He added that, like his master the Good Shepherd, Bishop Shao never abandoned his people even in a moment of difucult and unsecure situation for his christians and priests in the Islands. He concluded by saying that, given everything the Bishop did in these 25 years of his episcopate, the principle legacy he has left the people of Zanzibar is LOVE AND FORGIVENESS. A PEACE MAKER.

In his remarks, Bishop Shao expressed his sincere gratitude to the people of Zanzibar with whom he journeyed in these last 25 years. He thanked them especially for their love and faith in him and their continued support both moral and material. He took the opportunity to sincerely thank President Hussein Ally Mwinyi for gracing the celebrations with his presence. He said that the President’s presence at the celebrations was a clear expression of his sincere respect for the Catholic church and the bishop of Zanzibar and that it was yet another demonstration of the good relationship that has existed for centuries between the Church and various leaderships in Zanzibar, dating back to the time of the Sultans.

Bishop Shao took the opportunity to appeal to the President to address a variety of challenges that Catholics and other Christians unfairly face when living and working in Zanzibar. Most of the challenges revolve around land ownership, residential and work permits.On the issue of land, the Bishop told the president that over all, Christians and their institutions are denied land ownership and are often treated unfairly whenever they are involved in a land dispute.

The Bishop acknowledged that in his presidency, Hon.Dr. Hussein Mwinyi has introduced a lot of positive changes and he commended his excellent leadership that has put Zanzibar on a firm path to development especially in Blue economy, accountability, respect of democratic norms and peace.

His excellency Dr. Hussein Ali Mwinyi presenting his gift to Bishop Shao C.S.Sp for his Silver Jubile of his episcopate on 10 May 2022 in Zanzibar Amani Stadium with other pictures in the jubelee event.

In his address, the President of Zanzibar Dr. Hussein Ally Mwinyi congratulated Bishop Shao on his silver jubilee and acknowledged significant achievements that have been accomplished under the firm leadership of Bishop Shao in the last 25 years. He thanked the bishop for his active role in peace building and conflict resolution in Zanzibar. He commended his leadership and collaboration with both the Government and leaders of other faiths to ensure that the people of Zanzibar live in peace and harmony to ensure sustainable development for all.

He promised the Bishop and the nation as a whole that his government will move quickly to address the shortcomings that the bishop had pointed out earlier. He reiterated that in order to maintain peace, there must be fairness for all. He emphasized the connection that is always there between justice and peace and said that everyone deserves to be treated fairly. The President concluded by saying his government will address, as soon as possible, the challenges that were identified by the Bishop so that everybody in the islands will get their rights and the church be able to implement their programmes unhindered. In his message through the Nuncio’s office, Pope Francis commended Bishop Shao for his glorious services to the church and God’s people especially his commitment to interreligious dialogue within his Diocese. Addressing the Bishop as “Our dear brother Augustino Shao”, the pope said, “on the occasion of the silver jubilee of your episcopate, we congratulate you with a heart full of joy especially for the glorious mission you are carrying out for your people in Zanzibar and for your effort to promote dialogue among people of various religious denominations. Through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary and your patron St. Augustine, we wish you apostolic blessings and heavenly blessings, for you and for your people,” the pope concluded

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