The Catholic Church in Lesotho will in September mark the 60th anniversary of the passing of Archbishop Emmanuel Gregory Mabathoana OMI with a programme of memorial lectures, music, prayer and commemorative events celebrating the life of the first Mosotho bishop and the first African to head the Catholic Church in the Southern African region.
The programme comes as the Church in Lesotho continues to reflect on Mabathoana’s contribution to the development of an indigenous Catholic leadership and to education, language, culture and evangelisation. The anniversary theme is “His Legacy, Our Inspiration.”
In February, the Lesotho Catholic Bishops’ Conference held its 48th Ordinary Plenary Assembly at the Maria Mabasotho Oblate Pastoral Centre in Maseru under the theme “Remembering Archbishop Emmanuel ‘Mabathoana OMI’s Life and Legacy.” The opening Mass was attended by King Letsie III, while Apostolic Nuncio Archbishop Henryk Mieczysław Jagodziński used the occasion to reflect on the significance of Mabathoana’s ministry.
“Archbishop Emmanuel Mabathoana was a true pioneer. Not only in office but also in his spirit. His legacy of education, linguistic development and cultural dignity continues through the Church’s work of evangelisation, education, formation, leadership and reconciliation”, he stated.
The September programme follows the Lesotho bishops’ decision earlier this year to place Mabathoana’s legacy at the centre of their own deliberations. It also gives the wider Catholic community an opportunity to revisit the story of a Church leader whose influence extended well beyond his years as Archbishop of Maseru.
Sixty Years On
Mabathoana died on 19 September 1966 while travelling by air from Maseru to Pretoria, where he was due to attend a meeting of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC). Sixty years later, his name remains part of the story of the Catholic Church in Lesotho, Southern Africa and the rest of the world.
Born on 29 December 1904 at Mokhokhong, near Roma, Mabathoana was a great-grandson of King Moshoeshoe I, founder of the Basotho nation. He received his early education in Lesotho Marist mission institutions, and he attended St Joseph’s Training College and entered St Teresa Seminary in 1924.
He made his Oblate novitiate in 1932 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1933, becoming the first Mosotho to enter the priesthood after Father Raphael Mohasi.
His ministry combined pastoral work, education, scholarship and a deep interest in language and culture. He taught at the Minor Seminary and Major Seminary and later lectured in African languages at Pius XII Catholic University College in Roma, where he taught for eight years. He studied in Rome, London and the United States.
His linguistic abilities were central to his ministry. He was proficient in Latin, Greek, Italian and German and worked extensively with Southern African languages. His work included translating the Bible into Sesotho and composing numerous hymns for the Catholic Sesotho Hymn Book.
The Pioneer
In December 1952, he became the first bishop of the newly established Diocese of Leribe and was consecrated on 25 March 1953 at St Michael’s Mission in Maseru before a crowd estimated at more than 15,000 people. In January 1961, when Maseru was raised to an archdiocese and metropolitan see, he became its first Archbishop and Metropolitan of Basutoland. His appointment was historic: he was the first African Archbishop south of the Zambezi and the first African to serve on the executive of the Southern African Bishops’ Conference. Contemporary Oblate records from his installation also describe him as the first native African elected to that high dignity.
His Church responsibilities took him beyond Lesotho. In 1963 he visited Rome as a member of the Board of the Commission on Missions during the Second Vatican Council, while in December 1964 he travelled to Bombay, India, for the Eucharistic Congress, where he preached on the lay apostolate. In 1963, during celebrations marking the centenary of the Catholic Church in Lesotho, he was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.
That history will be revisited during September through the memorial lectures, the music festival and the main anniversary commemorations.
For Catholics in Lesotho, the 60th anniversary is therefore also a chance to remember where their Church has come from and the people who helped shape it.
The Memorial Events
The Archbishop Emmanuel Mabathoana OMI Memorial Lecture Series will be held online every Thursday in September, on 3, 10, 17 and 24 September 2026 at 19:00 CAT. Over four evenings, distinguished Church leaders, scholars and invited speakers will reflect on different aspects of Mabathoana’s life, formation, ministry and historical significance. The series is intended to provide a deeper look at the archbishop’s contribution to the Church and to Basotho society, and members of the public will be able to join the sessions live on Facebook.
The Mabathoana Music Festival will take place on Saturday, September 12 at Lesotho High School Hall. It is being presented as a night of praise in honour of the archbishop. The musical celebration has a particular connection with Mabathoana’s own legacy, given his contribution to the Catholic Sesotho Hymn Book. Altar servers from Maria Mamohau have also announced their participation in the Gospel Music Festival being held in his honour.
The main anniversary falls on Saturday, 19 September 2026, 60 years after Mabathoana’s death. Roma, the place of his birth, formation and academic work, features prominently in the story surrounding the commemoration.
The commemorations continue on Sunday, 20 September 2026, when the Lesotho Catholic Bishops’ Conference will host the ordination of four candidates to the diaconate at 10:00 a.m. at Our Lady of Victories Cathedral in Maseru. The ordination is being held as part of the 60th-anniversary commemoration.
At the centre of the September programme is the story of a Mosotho priest who became a bishop, an archbishop, and a pioneer of African leadership in the Catholic Church in Southern Africa. The events will bring together people interested in the Church’s history, as well as the faithful who wish to mark the anniversary through prayer, music and celebration.
For further enquiries, contact Ms Thuto Matobo at +266 5847 9119.
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