"I am Lazaro Felix Mahangale, the fifth son in a family of eight children of Felix Mahangale and Hilalia Lazaro. I am a Tanzanian and a seminarian of the Archdiocese of Tabora. I am 28 years old. My vocation journey started when I was in elementary school in 2006. The formation I received from my parents, the lesson I received from the catechist and my teachers at school were a help to my vocation.
My path towards this vocation was difficult at the beginning where I wrote two letters in several years to two different parish priests with the aim of entering the seminary but it was not fruitful. However, in the end God helped me, I met the vocation director of the archdiocese of Tabora with whom I shared my desire to become a priest. When I finished my studies at the public high school in 2016, I immediately entered the propaedeutic seminary to begin my priestly journey. There I learned many things about the history of the diocese, prayer life, liturgy, spiritual life and the human formation of the priestly vocation. After that, I entered the philosophy major seminary of Missionarie of St. Francis de Sales (MSFS) called LUMEN CHRISTI INSTITUTE (LCI) from 2016 to 2019. The same year after finishing philosophy studies, I started Theology studies at the interdiocesan seminary in Tanzania known as Segerea Seminary where I trained for 8 months before coming to Rome in 2020.
I am now in Rome, continuing my priestly formation. It is a great opportunity and a blessing to be here under the guidance of the priests and professors of Opus Dei. It is also an opportunity to grasp many things related to the universal church. My presence in Rome has been a help to further discover my talents and advance in the discernment process. With God's grace, I am hopeful that one day I will achieve what God desires of me.
I appreciate very much all the benefactors who work daily and sacrifice their time and spend their goods for me to receive a good priestly formation. May God bless you all.
ABOUT THE ARCHDIOCESE OF TABORA
1. The Archdiocese, its boundaries and divisions originally the Tabora Mission was part of the Tanganyika Mission, created in 1878 when missionaries from Africa first arrived in Tabora on September 12, 1878 carrying the message of love with the mission of planting the Cross of Christ on African soil. It was erected as Pro-Vicarage on December 30, 1886, and became the Vicariate Apostolic Vicariate of Unyanyembe on January 28, 1897. The name was changed to V.A. of Tabora in 1925.
The Missionaries, obeying the call of Jesus Christ to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth as witnesses in the same line as the Apostles (Acts 1:8; Mt 28:16-20), made sure that this august task would continue by training and forming men and women to work alongside them and eventually take it on. The Vicariate of Tabora was dedicated to Mary Immaculate. The document attesting to this was duly signed and placed in the Mother Church of Ushirombo, at the foot of the statue of Our Lady Help of Christians, on September 8, 1910. When Pope Pius XII erected the Hierarchy in East Africa on March 25, 1953, the Vicariate of Tabora was elevated to the rank of Archdiocese and became the Metropolitan See of the Ecclesiastical Province of West Tanganyika. Its boundaries have been modified over the years. With the creation of the dioceses of Singida, on March 25, 1972, and Kahama, the boundaries were fixed as follows: a) To the north, it is bounded by the civil districts of Kahama, Biharamulo, Geita and Shinyanga. b) To the south, by the Limba-Limba and Ugalla rivers. c) To the east, by the Wembere, Mhwala, Nyahua and Njomwio rivers d) To the west, by the Malagarasi and Moyowosi rivers.
2. Present Situation of the Diocese. Geographically, the Archdiocese of Tabora is located in the western part of Tanzania, along the central railroad to Kigoma, on Lake Tanganyika. It has an area of 76,151 km2, equal to that of the Tabora administrative region, with a total population of 2,291,615 according to the 2012 census. Vision of the Diocese: "the Catholic Archdiocese of Tabora envisions a people of God filled with the Holy Spirit to be faithful stewards of God's saving mission." Mission and Vocation: "the Catholic Archdiocese of Tabora is committed to proclaiming the Good News in word and deed, serving in solidarity with other actors for the common good of humanity and for the Glory of God".
To this end, it has established and administered many institutions for the promotion of vocations, the formation of lay ministers, religious and clergy for the spiritual good of its people and to form citizens of the region guided by Christian moral values. The Archdiocese of Tabora has 29 parishes and numerous outbuildings where the faithful gather for worship and other religious activities. It also has 69 diocesan priests and 62 seminarians. In all these endeavors, we have a duty to promote and enhance integral development. Therefore, the mission of the Archdiocese of Tabora is to provide religious pastoral services for the welfare of the Catholic population within the Archdiocese, and to help promote the common good of all people, regardless of creed, for their socio-economic and spiritual well-being."
