The high-level Zambian delegation led by Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mulambo Haimbe has successfully concluded its mission to Rome, where it attended the funeral of the late Holy Father, Pope Francis.
Minister Haimbe was accompanied by Minister of Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Charles Milupi, President of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops (ZCCB) and Archbishop of Kasama Ignatius Chama, and Bishop of Chipata Diocese George Lungu. The delegation represented President Hakainde Hichilema and the Zambian people at the solemn event.
While in Rome, the Zambian delegation joined thousands of Catholic faithful on April 25, 2025, at St. Peter’s Basilica to pay their final respects to Pope Francis, a revered global religious leader known for his commitment to unity, compassion, and service to humanity.
Speaking after the ceremony, Mr. Haimbe called for the continuation of Pope Francis’s legacy, emphasizing the values of unity, love, and compassion that the Pope had championed throughout his pontificate.
In honour of the Pope’s life and service, President Hichilema declared April 26, 2025, a day of national mourning in Zambia, allowing citizens to reflect on the Pope’s profound impact on the world and the Catholic Church.
Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the election of Pope Francis’s successor. The Vatican has announced that a conclave will be held between May 6 and May 11, 2025, at the Sistine Chapel. A total of 135 cardinals under the age of 80 are eligible to vote in the highly anticipated election. According to tradition, the election’s conclusion will be signaled by the appearance of white smoke from the Sistine Chapel.
This information was provided in a statement issued by Pamela Mulenga, First Secretary for Press at the Zambian Embassy in Rome.
Laughable..
What’s laughable.Ignorance?Guess you don’t know that Vatican is a State and the Pope is the head.The Pope was not only a Catholic Bishop but in charge of Vatican as a state
Let us focus on developmental issues. Assuming we did not go there, was there going to be a difference.
What is laughable?
The man is in hell
Are you God to Judge?Infact he is much better than you who is still breathing.He spent his everyday life starting with prayer and ending with prayer.What about you?Starting a day writing nonsense and breathing nonsense
Ba Ayatollah, imwe you will be in Heaven?
Is there such a place ??
Humans the most unintelligable creatures of this world need religion to keep them on the straight and narrow and to give hope to thr have nots
All other creatures dont need such and know the world better than we will ever understand
Is this news? Just attending a funeral. We attend funerals all the time
It’s not only news but a historical moment in a life’s time.If you can’t get it forget about it
I wanted to write something, then got distracted when I read “laughable”. What was I going to write?
Going to Pope’s funeral should be historical moment. How? The pope is a mortal soul like all of us. Let us respect the funeral but let it not come out like big news.
How many Catholic institutions do you have in your country? They are under who?You have schools and hospitals sponsored by the same church you are insulting.
…..
Wasted resources……
Could have paid for 4 university students tuition fees
FWD2031
Yet when you have problems you rush to the same people for help. Bane lets not be short sighted.
Someone of were educated in Catholic schools, have been treated in Catholic hospitals, raised at Kasisi a catholic orphanage. Now you want to look down at the very institutions that shaped you. Your candidate to the ADB Sam Maimbo went to Chikuni Secondary, catholic school. You tell me what he hopes to do at the ADB you and africa will not benefit? Tuletasha bane…just simple cost of two tickets and how many nights stay in room? The other two in the picture are Patricia Chisanga Kondolo and the Zambian Ambasador to Unesco based in Rome. They are residents in Itlay within wihich the country called the vatican is based.
Mulenga
Where and when has Zambia rushed to the Vatican for help ???
Jata Bulenge
No one is looking down at the catholic institution……..
Zambia does not have to send an envoy to every gathering or funeral…..
The funeral was well represented by Africans…..
Apart from personal satisfaction for the attendees , what has the wider Zambian gained ??? No one even noticed them……
Air fare and hotel monies could have been better used to support those orphanages, even the late pope would have wanted that…….he was a very modest man
FWD2041
Ba Spaka I respect you. We have colleges, Hospitals and schools sponsored by the Catholic church. How many Nuns and Priest under the same Pope managing and teaching in these schools, let alone working in these hospitals? You have the answer my leader. I guess you have just forgotten about this my leader.The Pope was not just a religious leader but a head of state as well. Rememeber that the same church intervened during the time you could not pay back your Debt.They helped to Councell that Debt only someone to come and put you back in a pig pen
MUSONDA
Even the same Pope , MHSRIP…….
Would approve that money spent on hotels and tickets instead be spent taking one street kid out of the street and educating him or she……..
Only Africans luck creativity………
This was going to be a coup for publicity for GRZ to hand out the money that was to be used to attend the funeral to one of the orphanages run by the Catholic Church…….
This would have made international news for good intentions
FWD2041
Zambian delegation concludes mission to pope Francis funeral in Rome. Certainly not a story. Unless perhaps they didnt conclude this ”mission”…If lets say kapena there was loadshedding in Italy.
Its like reporting that minibuses are driving along Chilimbulu road. Thats what they do. Or that HH has boarded a plane. He does that everyday.
Of course it is well known that when the State is in control of the media, reporters write everything out of fear. ”President Hakainde has drunk his cup of tea at State House today….”
You just never know when Mweetwa or Kawana would ask what you did after he bought you the ticket to the Holy See.