Parish of Shining of Our Lord Jesus Christ - Mabatini is among the parishes within the diocese of Bugando, Archdiocese of Mwanza.** ORIGINS The Mabatini parish was one of the seven outstations under the Bugando Parish. In 1964, a group of Christians began to pray at the home of elder Petro Bundala under the leadership of Charles Mapembe. In 1969, these believers requested and received land from local resident Yacob, where they built a mud outstation under Bishop Renatus Butibubage and the parish priest of Bugando, Father Yakobo Hoosdergt. Later, in 1994, the believers built the outstation using their own labor and assistance from various donors. In that same year, the leadership of the outstation wrote to Parish Priest Father Michael Mayela requesting the Holy Mass to be held at the outstation. This request was granted, and the first Mass was celebrated on the feast of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ [Holy Eucharist] in June 1994. Father Jimmy Eble, who was the first priest and founder of this parish, worked as a counselor at Bugando Hospital in the 2000s. He was requested by the then Parish Priest of Bugando, Father Tryphone Magafu, to assist in offering Sunday Mass and church feast services at the outstations of Bugando parish, where he was assigned to serve at Mabatini. In January 2001, Father Jimmy Eble of the Maryknoll Missionaries was officially appointed by the Parish Priest of Bugando, Father Tryphone Magafu, as the guardian of the Mabatini outstation with the hope that it would later become a parish. Father Jimmy, assisted by Father Donati, led this outstation by following the guidelines of the Archdiocese of Mwanza regarding sacramental services, leadership, and steps to establish a parish. The leaders of the outstation, under the then-chairman Renatus Manyama, spoke with Father Jimmy and expressed their intention and desire to elevate the Mabatini outstation to a parish, specifically requesting Father Jimmy to come and establish this parish. Father Jimmy took these discussions to heart, and after completing his contract at Bugando Hospital, he reflected on the talks and decided to accept the call to Mabatini to establish the parish. Father Jimmy held discussions with His Grace Archbishop Anthony Petro Mayala [may God grant his soul rest in peace] and the leaders of the Maryknoll organization, who all agreed on the idea, leading Father Jimmy to begin providing services and preparing for the parish. Father Jimmy began by visiting all communities, providing seminars and gathering opinions from community members regarding the establishment of the parish. After being encouraged by the readiness of the community members to cooperate with him in establishing the parish, he started discussions with the priests of neighboring parishes about the boundaries, while continuing to offer seminars to the believers, an action he termed "BUILDING A CHURCH OF THE PEOPLE." This parish was the first to be established after the Synod of the Archdiocese of Mwanza, which called for "a Family of God that cares and is responsible." During discussions with those priests, Father Tryphone Magafu [Parish Priest of Bugando] agreed that the POLICE LINE MABATINI outstation, which was also under his parish, be included in the new Mabatini parish. After these agreements, a written report was submitted to Archbishop Anthony Petro Mayala, who, after consulting with his advisors, approved Mabatini as a parish. Throughout this time, Father Jimmy worked closely with the leaders of the Outstation Lay Council, which included the following members: - Chairman - Renatus Manyama - Vice Chairman - Pius Joseph - Secretary - Adam Kazungu - Assistant Secretary - Joseph Mahega - Treasurer - Leonard Chama **ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE NEW PARISH:** In 2002, His Grace Archbishop Anthony Petro Mayala declared the Mabatini outstation a new parish and placed it under the care of Father Jimmy Eble of the Maryknoll Missionaries. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE PARISH On Sunday, September 12, 2004, the new parish of Mabatini was officially established by His Grace Archbishop Anthony Petro Mayala, under the patronage of Christ -- commemorating the feast of KUNG'ARA OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST. He emphasized that every year, on August 6, we should celebrate this day as our parish feast day. The parish was entrusted to Father Jimmy Eble of the Maryknoll organization under the supervision of the organization’s head at that time, Father Thomas Tisconia, and he was installed on that same day as the first parish priest. Father Donat, the assistant priest at that time, was the first to make a pledge of obedience to the parish priest, followed by the leaders of the executive committee of the Lay Council and later all the community leaders. **LEADERSHIP OF THE LAY COUNCIL AT THE PARISH LEVEL:** Subsequently, elections were held for the leaders of the Parish Lay Council, and the following were elected: - Chairman - Renatus Manyama - Vice Chairman - Pius Joseph - Secretary - Adam Kazungu - Assistant Secretary - Joseph Mahega - Treasurer - Happy Douglas **EVANGELIZATION ACTIVITIES AND SPIRITUAL SERVICES IN THE PARISH:** Since its establishment, this parish has continued to conduct significant evangelization activities in building a church of the people and church buildings. In 2013, Father Jimmy Eble left our parish after serving for ten (10) years. Archbishop Jude Thaddeus Ruwa'ichi appointed Father Pamphilius Madata as the caretaker of the parish or transitional parish priest - as he preferred to call it during this transitional period while the Maryknoll organization sought another priest to provide services here. Later, in 2015, the Maryknoll organization appointed Father Lam Hua as the parish priest of this parish. They also appointed Father John Eyble as the assistant parish priest who is currently the parish priest of Mabatini, assisted by Father John Siyumbu, MM. They provide evangelization services together with Br. Loren and the laypeople of Maryknoll. Our parish currently has four catechists: Godwin Michael, Elias Philipo, Emmanue Cosmas, and Domina Yusto. Our parish now celebrates two Masses every Sunday and one Mass at the St. Jude Thaddeus outstation - Bethlehem, and daily weekday Masses. We also have adoration of the Blessed Sacrament [Benediction] every Thursday at 11:00 PM. **STATUS OF FAITH:** The status of faith has continued to strengthen, with more believers growing in faith and changing their life conduct, although challenges related to the immaturity of faith still persist. The level of offerings and contributions has been steadily increasing compared to when the parish was established. The parish continues to implement the policies of the Mwanza Synod and participates fully in diocesan events and activities, including a week of generosity and gratitude, the construction of the Cathedral, and the strengthening of vocations. **STATUS OF VOCATIONS:** So far, our parish has produced four priests: Father George Nzungu in 2009, Father Celestine Nyanda in 2012, Father Kelvin Mkama in 2016, and Father Enock R. Mutegeki in 2022. **FUTURE DEVELOPMENT:** After building the church of the people, Father Jimmy, in collaboration with the believers and various donors both within and outside Tanzania, continued to build church facilities, including a large church with a capacity to hold 1,000 people at one time, a priests’ residence, an administrative building, a grotto of Mother Virgin Mary, and a storehouse. The government also allocated land to the parish in the Buzuruga area where a St. Jude Thaddeus outstation has already been established. **LAY APOSTOLATE GROUPS:** The parish has various lay apostolate groups, including: - UWAKA - WAWATA - VIWAWA - The Sacred Heart of Jesus Society - Legion of Mary - Catholic Charismatic Renewal - Choir - Queen of Peace Choir, St. Martin Choir, and Uganda Martyrs Choir. - Vocational groups - The Holy Childhood Society **NEIGHBORHOODS:** The parish has five neighborhoods: - Kanaan Neighborhood - Good Samaritan Neighborhood - Zion Neighborhood - Butibubage Neighborhood - Maryknoll Neighborhood **OUTSTATION:** The parish has one outstation, which is the St. Jude Thaddeus - Bethlehem outstation. **ACHIEVEMENTS:** Throughout this period, we have achieved many successes. Here are some of the significant accomplishments in our parish: - Our parish has successfully built a large church with a capacity to hold 1,000 people for a single Mass. - We have successfully relocated residents living within the parish area. - We have successfully produced four priests. - We have successfully established the St. Jude Thaddeus - Bethlehem outstation in the Nyambiti neighborhood. **CHALLENGES:** There are various challenges we face, including: - We are still facing a major challenge regarding the acquisition of the parish land title.