There was somber mood at Limbe Cathedral Cemetery on Saturday afternoon as the faithful lowered the casket of Rev. Fr Stanislaus Chinguo at exactly 1:05pm.
Limbe Cathedral Choir sung, “Ndigoneranji m’manda ndekha, Apapa tsalani ngakhale mundikonda Ambuye tsogoleleni ndili ndekha” as the brown casket was slowly going down to Fr Chinguo’s last resting place.
Aged 51, Reverend Father Chinguo, spent 26 years in priesthood after being ordained on July 23, 1994, by the late Bishop James Chiona at Limbe Cathedral.
Father Chinguo was born on January 19, 1969, at Mlapa Village in Traditional Authority Mkanda in Mulanje District.
During the requiem mass outside Limbe Cathedral, relatives, nuns, priests, and believers joined in to celebrate the life of a man who gave hope and deliverance to Christians.
Notable Bishops who attended the requiem mass included Bishop Peter Musikuwa of Chikwawa Diocese, Bishop George Tambala of Zomba Diocese and Bishop Montfort Stima of Mangochi Diocese.
Archbishop Luke Thomas Msusa of Blantyre Archdiocese, who led the Mass, praised the deceased as an extraordinary priest who had love for his sheep, development and education.
“Rev Fr Chinguo was a self-driven priest who has been a role model to many priests, his love for his duty as a Shepherd and for children, especially seeing them attend school, is beyond human description,” His Lordship Msusa said.
Archbishop Msusa further said while the deceased was serving at Pius XII Seminary, he helped many seminarians because he was very brilliant in English.
“His contribution is vividly evident in every area he served,” Archbishop Msusa said.
He added that at the time of his sickness, Father Chinguo always remembered God as he used to spend much of his time in the Chapel.
Reverend Father Frank Mwinganyama, the Blantyre Archdiocese Communications Officer, said at the time of his death, the late Father Chinguo had been battling kidney failure, diabetes and high blood pressure for three years.
“He has been battling with diabetes, high blood pressure and Kidney failure for three years and was sent to India for further treatment.
“He continued to serve as usual but later on he retired after his health deteriorated and was staying at Limbe Cathedral,” Fr Mwinganyama said.
Reverend Father Benedicto Masuwa who was staying with the late priest, said Father Chinguo was a darling to serving God because even after the sickness, he continued to show interest in serving the Lord.
“Although he was in pain, one would hardly know due to his resilience and hard work while performing his duties.
“Most priests would doubt his condition. One day, someone asked me whether he was really sick because he would ably move around his house and do various kinds of work without aid,” Reverend Father Masuwa said.
He said the deceased’s pride was in helping the needy and serving God.
Reverend Father Stanislaus Chinguo did his early primary education at Mulanje L.E.A, Zomba Government (Bwaila), Namulenga and Montfort Demonstration School before joining Pius XII Minor Seminary in 1981.
In 1988 he went to Kachebere Major Seminary where he did Philosophy up to 1990.
He later went to St. Peters Major Seminary to study Theology from 1990 up to 1994.
Reverend Father Chinguo also did a Masters in Moral Theology in Kenya from 1999 to 2002.
The late Father has been a priest for 26 years and served in various parishes before breathing his last on Thursday.
After his ordination on July 23, 1994, Father Chinguo had served at Pius X11 Minor Seminary from 1994 to 1997, Nthawira Parish from 1997-98. He was Parish Priest at Bangwe from 1998-99 before going to Kenya in 1999-2002 to study Moral Theology..
The late Reverend Father Chinguo also served in the following parishes, Nguludi, Njuli, Mwanga, Lunzu and Nthawira Parish.
During his sickness, he retired and was staying at St. James Rectory in Limbe Cathedral until his last day on earth on 28 May, 2020 at Mwaiwathu Private Hospital in Blantyre.
