The Most Reverend Patrick Fani Chakaipa (25 June 1932 – 8 April 2003) was the Archbishop of Harare from 1976 until his death in 2003.

Early life

He was born in Chirundazi (

Mhondoro Paddington Mhondoro (27 September 1986 – 13 March 2015) was a Zimbabwean cricketer who played a single limited overs match for Mid West Rhinos during the 2013–14 season. Born in Gweru, in Zimbabwe's Midlands Province, Mhondoro attended Chi ...

) which is some 100 km south of

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

. He was of the

Zezuru Shona (; sn, chiShona) is a Bantu language of the Shona people of Zimbabwe. It was codified by the colonial government in the 1950s. According to ''Ethnologue'', Shona, comprising the Zezuru, Korekore and Karanga dialects, is spoken by about 7 ...

tribe. His early life must have included the typical life of a Zezuru boy which includes herding cattle goats or sheep as well as working on the fields. He attended secondary school education at St. Michael's Mission Mhondoro, which is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

school. He was well known for his strict discipline during school days and perseverance in difficult situations. He was good at football and was affectionately known by his first name Fani.

Episcopate

He was the first African Roman Catholic bishop in Rhodesia/

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

. During his seminary years he was a keen writer and completed several books which were written in his

language. Some of the books included adventure and African culture folklore (Rudo Ibofu, Garandichauya, Karikoga Gumi Remiseve, Pfumo Reropa, Dzasukwa Mwana Asinahembe). He was very instrumental in keeping the Catholic faith among Mondoroans influencing quite a substantial number of young Zezuru Mhondoroans to join the priesthood. He officiated at the swearing ceremony of Zimbabwe's first black African leader

Robert Gabriel Mugabe Robert Gabriel Mugabe (; ; 21 February 1924 – 6 September 2019) was a Zimbabwean revolutionary and politician who served as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe from 1980 to 1987 and then as President from 1987 to 2017. He served as Leader of the ...

. He presided at the president's wedding to his second wife

Grace Mugabe Grace Ntombizodwa Mugabe (' Marufu; born 23 July 1965) is a Zimbabwean entrepreneur, politician and the widow of the late President Robert Mugabe. She served as the First Lady of Zimbabwe from 1996 until her husband's resignation in November 201 ...

Burial

After his death, he was buried at Chishawasha cemetery near

External links

Profile at Catholic Hierarchy website
1932 births 2003 deaths 20th-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Zimbabwe 21st-century Roman Catholic archbishops in Zimbabwe People from Harare Rhodesian Roman Catholic archbishops Shona people Roman Catholic archbishops of Harare Zimbabwean Roman Catholic archbishops {{Africa-RC-archbishop-stub