307 Profess As Full Members of Wamama Wa Chitemwano
By Sister Margret Luhanga
On 31st May and 1st June 2019, a total of 307 women from all the nine parishes of the Diocese of Karonga made their profession as full members of Wamama Wachitemwano (Women of Charity) in the Diocese.
The profession tevent took place in all the nine parish centres and involved more than 2,500 Wamama Wachitemwano across the Diocese.
Wamama Wachitemwano is the biggest devotion movement for women only within the Lay Apostolate in the Diocese. The movement exists following Christ’s command in John 13:34-35: “A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Their patron saint is Mary our Lady who visited her cousin Elizabeth and helped her. On the Feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (31st May), they celebrated together as a devotional movement and inducted the newly initiated members into their movement.
Taking after the example of Mary who visited her cousin, Elizabeth, to serve her, these women serve by evangelizing through action. They gather for prayers, faith and leadership instructions, and works of charity.
Wamama Wachitemwano Devotion Movement has about 8,440 members. Every year, new members are recruited and initiated into the spirituality of the movement until they are deemed fit for full membership.
For this year, those that were accepted to full membership are the 307 women from all the nine parishes. See more details about membership of Wamama Wachitemwano in the Diocese in the table below:
| # | PARISH | TOTAL NUMBER BY DECEMBER 2018 | TOTAL NUMBER GATHERED DURING MAPANGANO | TOTAL NUMBER PROFESSED | % OF GATHERED OVER TOTAL FOR PARISH | % INCREASE FOR PARISH |
| 1 | St Mathias Mulumba | 1,018 | 130 | 23 | 13 | 2 |
| 2 | St John Paul II | 573 | 275 | 30 | 48 | 5 |
| 3 | St Michaels | 1,256 | 575 | 74 | 46 | 6 |
| 4 | St Ignatius of Loyola | 368 | 185 | 30 | 50 | 8 |
| 5 | St Francis De Sales | 217 | 44 | 8 | 20 | 4 |
| 6 | St Annes | 2,694 | 355 | 55 | 13 | 2 |
| 7 | St Marys | 1,054 | 540 | 43 | 51 | 4 |
| 8 | St Joseph the Worker | 552 | 221 | 21 | 40 | 4 |
| 9 | St Stevens | 708 | 230 | 23 | 32 | 3 |
| DIOCESE TOTALS | 8,440 | 2,555 | 307 | 30 | 4 |