In 1946, three Carmelites, Donal Lamont, Anselm Corbett, and Luke Flynn, left Ireland to bring Carmel to an area which was initially evangelized by the Trappists, the Jesuits, and the Marianhill Missionaries.
In 1956 Australian Carmelites, Frs William Gerard (Bill) Morganti, Robert Berthold (Bob) Dowd and Brother George Augustine Parsons joined the mission in what was then called Rhodesia. Before leaving Australia they received their mission crosses from Father Edmund Joseph (Ted) Nugent (Prior Provincial) who in this photo is showing them the location of their mission.Some years earlier Brother Richard (Aloysius) Farnsworth had gone to Rhodesia to join the Irish mission and was there when they arrived.
Five years later Bill Morganti died suddenly, and alone, at Mecheke. He was 51. Augustine Parsons left the Carmelites but became a teacher at, and then principal of, St George’s College which was started by the English Jesuits. After some time Bob Dowd returned to Australia and was later prior and parish priest at Wentworthville and then Hilton. He died 10 July 2001. Aloysius Farnsworth also returned to Australia, He worked in the Santa Teresa mission at Alice Springs and then the Sacred Heart Mission at St Kilda. He died 27 March 1997.
Fr James DeLaurier, originally from the Province of St Elias (USA) and who later became a member of the Province of Australia & Timor-Leste, also ministered in Zimbabwe from 1961-71. He died in September 2015.
Today more than 50 indigenous Carmelites form the Commissariat of Zimbabwe, part of the Province of Ireland.
At a Eucharist in Whitefriars Street in Dublin for the celebration, the Ambassador of Zimbabwe to the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, Retired Colonel Christian M. Katsande spoke of the Carmelites “bringing not only their religious vocation but also a deep commitment to serve the people of Zimbabwe.”
He also spoke of Donal Lamont who later became the bishop of the Diocese of Umtali (now called Mutare) as “not only a man of deep faith, but also a man of great courage.” Lamont’s pastoral letter “Purchased People” and his “Speech from the Dock” when he was standing trial under the Ian Smith government, “gave voice to the moral responsibility of the Church to stand with the oppressed.” While his words led to his expulsion from the country, they also “inspired many and contributed to the growing spirit of justice and liberation that saw the country of Rhodesia transform into the independent nation of Zimbabwe.”
One of the projects for the anniversary year is a series of videos on the Commissary.
You can access the first of these here
