Siphathisiwe Mpofu |  2 years ago | breaking

Zimbabwe’s longest-serving Roman Catholic priest, Father Emmanuel Ribeiro has died aged 86.

Father Ribeiro was born in 1935 and went to St Francis Xavier College, Kutama in 1951. In 1952 he joined Chishawasha seminary where he did his Junior Certificate in Education, before joining Chishawasha seminary for Philosophy studies in 1954. He proceeded to Gokomere Mission where he did his teaching course. He was ordained a diocesan priest on 13 December 1964.

He is credited with composing the first Shona hymns which include, “Gamuchirai Mambo mupiro uyu”, “Alleluia munyika dzose”, “Tauya nezvipo zvemupiro”, “Mambo Mwari wamasimba”, ”Hwayana yaMwari”, Mwari Ngaarumbidzwe” among others.

Father Ribeiro, who has been a priest for the past 50 years, was the first black chaplain-general of the prisons, army and police during the Smith regime.