Southern Africa?s new provincial: Brother Norbert Mwila
The Institute's general council has appointed Brother Norbert Mwila of Zambia as provincial of Southern Africa for a first three-year term.
“I hope and wish to share my acquired knowledge, understanding and experience of life as a Marist formator into my new ministry and leadership role, trusting in the Lord as the Master builder, our good Mother Mary and St Marcellin for their inspirational guidance and wisdom of experience,” he told the general house press office on March 3.
Superior general Brother Emili Turú made the announcement in a letter to the Brothers of the province of Southern Africa dated Feb. 19 after “a moment of fraternal dialogue” with Br Norbert.
In the letter, he thanked the previous provincial, Brother Joseph Walton, for his “generosity and commitment to the animation and government of the Province over the past six years.”
Br Norbert will begin his term on Aug. 23 during the beginning of the provincial chapter.
He first came across the Marist Brothers as a teenager, when he met Brother José Grande.
After graduating from high school, Br Norbert became a postulant at St Paul’s community in Kabwe in 1991.
He became a novice later that year at Kutama, Zimbabwe, and made his first profession in 1993. He then continued his formation at the Marist International Centre, or the MIC, in Nairobi until 1996.
Br Norbert went on to teach primary and secondary school at St Paul’s and was appointed as head teacher of a new primary school in the same community in 1998, where he served for seven years.
He recalls his mother, who passed away a year before his final profession in 2000, as being “among the most significant and encouraging figures” in his Marist vocation.
In 2001, Br Norbert was appointed community superior of St Paul’s, did an 11 month course for formators in Nairobi in 2005 and in 2006 he served as Master of postulants at Mtendere, a large village in Malawi, for 3 months.
In 2007, he was appointed novice master at Matola Novitiate in Mozambique and in 2013, he was appointed member of the International Commission for Brothers Today.