ECM Chairman
Rt. Rev. George Desmond Tambala, Archbishop of Lilongwe Archdiocese

A Brief History

Established in 1961 with approval of the Holy See, the Episcopal Conference of Malawi (ECM) has until now been an assembly of eight Catholic Dioceses of Blantyre, Chikwawa, Dedza, Karonga,Lilongwe, Mangochi, Mzuzu and Zomba. With its mission “To bring about the kingdom of God in Malawi by teaching and promoting unity, development, justice, peace and solidarity” (ECM Strategic Plan, July 2006 – June 2011, Pg 18) the Catholic Church in Malawi celebrated its 100 years of existence in July 2001. Presently there are over three million Catholics consulting nearly 25 percent of the country’s populace. The number of Catholics continues to grow annually.

ECM has its general Secretariat, the Catholic Secretariat, in Lilongwe, Capital City of Malawi. Originally, the secretariat was in Blantyre but moved to Lilongwe, Central Malawi, in 1979 to strategically serve all Dioceses better. The Secretariat’s core function is to implement the resolutions of the Bishops Conference as well as to facilitate and coordinate socio-pastoral programs that the Dioceses implement as part of the Church’s evangelization mission. The Catholic Secretariat is also the meeting place for Bishops who meet two times a year in scheduled plenary sessions lasting a week each. The Bishops also meet at the Secretariat at various times of the year for study sessions, Committee meetings, Board of Governors meetings and ecumenical meetings.

VISION, MISSION AND VALUES

VISION
“Family of God filled with the Holy Spirit living in harmony, peace and solidarity.”

MISSION

The Catholic Church is committed to providing holistic evangelisation through teaching the word of God, and facilitating development work.”