Photos that quietly upstaged the sermon at Catholic’s 125th

• Old political rivals shared smiles beneath a green tent in Dedza — even as the bishop chided them for seeking God only at election time

Thousands gathered at St Mary’s Nzama Parish in Dedza district on Saturday to mark 125 years of Catholic presence in Malawi. Amid the sermons and the scripture, it was often the smaller, unscripted moments beneath the marquee that told their own story about the day.

In one corner, veteran politician Nicholas Dausi, a longtime figure in Malawi’s ruling establishment and a devout Catholic, was seen locked in an animated embrace with UTM president Dalitso Kabambe — the two men gripping each other by the shoulders, laughing, oblivious for a moment to the political distance that usually separates them.

Nearby, Minister of Finance Joseph Mwanamvekha stood shoulder to shoulder with Dr Matthews Mtumbuka, UTM’s presidential running mate and MP for Rumphi Central, and Patricia Kaliati, the UTM MP, all three dressed in the parish’s commemorative blue-and-white cloth, posing together as though the day’s seating arrangements had quietly dissolved party lines.

A little further on, Finance Minister Joseph Mwanamvekha and Kabambe themselves were photographed in conversation, hands clasped, the minister’s red pocket square catching the light beneath the tent’s green canopy.

None of it was on the programme. But in a country where political rivalries tend to dominate the headlines, the images circulating from Nzama told a different story — of politicians from opposing camps, drawn together under one tent for an anniversary that belonged to neither of their parties.

It was against this backdrop that Bishop Martin Mtumbuka, chairman of the Malawi Conference of Catholic Bishops, delivered his address to the gathered faithful. His words carried an edge that the photographs, in their quieter way, seemed almost to answer.

“It is surprising that politicians seek God when they are campaigning and want to win elections,” he said.

“When they win, they abandon God and start contributing to the pain of Malawians. When they lose and face another election, they start seeking God again. That is not good.”

He called on political and government leaders to remain committed to their faith, and to the people they serve, consistently — not selectively, shaped by the electoral calendar.

He pointed to long delays in accessing government services, among them passport applications that he said can take years, and urged leaders to set aside what he called trivial disputes in favour of addressing the country’s more pressing problems, including chronic power outages.

President Peter Mutharika, in a statement issued the day before, had struck a warmer note about the Church’s place in national life, describing it as “a key partner in national development” and commending its contribution to education, health and social welfare.

Whether the warmth on display beneath the tent — Dausi and Kabambe’s embrace, Mwanamvekha’s easy conversation with members of the opposition — reflected anything beyond the etiquette of a shared religious occasion is, perhaps, beside the point.

For one afternoon in Nzama, the Church’s 125th anniversary offered politicians from opposing sides a rare, photographed moment of common ground.

The celebrations, held under the theme “Rooted in Christ, Sent for Mission,” were presided over by Archbishop Fortunatus Nwachukwu, Secretary of the Dicastery for Evangelisation at the Vatican and Special Delegate of Pope Leo XIV.

The Church’s history in the country dates to 1901, when Montfort Missionaries established a mission at Nzama — recognised today as Malawi’s first Catholic parish.