African order of priests gathers in Phoenix, sings in Swahili at Mass

GLENDALE — The 31-member choir comprised entirely of priests lifted its voice to join in hymns sung in Swahili, accompanied by an organ and drum.

The priests are members of the Apostles of Jesus, a religious order that held its annual regional meeting at St. James Parish July 26-29. Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted of the Diocese of Phoenix presided over a Mass for the community July 27. Auxiliary Bishop Eduardo A. Nevares concelebrated.

The Apostles of Jesus, who number some 400 priests serving in various parts of the world, constitute the first such order founded on African soil. There are 56 priests belonging to the order serving in the United States, three of them in the Diocese of Phoenix.

At St. James Parish, where Fr. Robert Aliunzi, AJ, is pastor, the mood was one of celebration. The regional superior of the Apostles of Jesus, Fr. Paul Ggagawala was on hand for the event, as well as a number of priests from the Phoenix Diocese.

“As soon as we heard the music, we knew we were being enriched by a very great culture,” Bishop Olmsted told the congregation. “It’s important for the Church to show what it means to be Catholic and also to show how faith and cultures together can bring such beauty and inspire us in important ways.”

Last Pentecost, St. James Parish began celebrating a Mass in Swahili at 11 a.m. on the last Sunday of each month. Parishioners at the July 27 Mass in honor of the Apostles of Jesus’ founders seemed eager to embrace the African culture. Some dressed in native attire and most joined along in the Swahili hymns.

Fr. Robert Tumwekwase, AJ, a chaplain at Magdalen College in New Hampshire, said the priests of the order are mostly natives of Uganda, but also hail from Tanzania, Sudan and Kenya.

“Our work here promotes vocations,” Fr. Tumwekwase said. The priests send a portion of their earnings back home to help defray the costs of seminary for those who aspire to become priests.

For the last 14 years the Apostles of Jesus have celebrated a Mass on July 27 to honor their two founders, Bishop Sisto Mazzoldi and
Fr. John Marengoni, who both died on that date, the former in 1987, the latter in 2007.

Suzanne Johnson, chairwoman of St. James’ Efforts to Educate the Needy Children of Uganda, had never been to a Mass where hymns were sung in Swahili. She said she traveled to the Africa last year to check on the progress being made by the EENU toward building a school.

“It was quite an experience to have that culture come here to America,” she said of the Mass at St. James. While in Uganda, she tried to learn something of the local language and picked up one word: “tuzekanga,” which roughly translated, means “Welcome” or “cheers.”

“That’s how we feel — it’s ‘tuzekanga’ to these 31 priests,” she said.