Thursday, April 17, 2014

Celebrating Palm Sunday at Hanga

It is customary for Hanga Abbey and its schools (Hanga Seminary, St. Benedict, Hanga Trade School) to have Palm Sunday celebrated together at which students from all schools  and workers celebrate the Mass at the abbey church. This year the mass was presided by Fr. Kamugisha the head of St. Augustine Catholic University of Songea campus. The celebration started at St. Pirmin's Guest House where palms were blessed and procession began heading to the abbey church about 300 meters.
The celebration of masses together is desirable for the community but the abbey church is too small to handle all people at once. Hence, at least once a year, monks, students and workers take the trouble to attend mass together.










Saturday, April 12, 2014

Frater Deogratias Mwageni, OSB, of Hanga Abbey Dies

The sad news of the death of Frater Deogratias Mwageni, occured on Friday  11th of April 2014. Frater Deogratias died after his health dwindling for some time. He was born in  1950 on 30th of March. He joined Hanga Abbey and made his first profession on July 11, 1975.



Of the many responsibilities he held at the abbey Frater Degratias will be remembered by many people as a teacher and headmaster at St. Benedict school from 2000 until 2004. Because of his compassion and treating student as if he were a grandfather to his grandchildren, he earned a name "Babu Poa/Deo" meaning Cool Grandpa or Grandpa Deo. Indeed Frater Deogratias was a quiet monk who always lived by sticking to monastic discipline. He loved peace and did not like confrontation a quality that earned him many friends and great respect among the monks.

May he rest in peace.