Picture this moving scene. Thirty-one members of the
Maryknoll Family in East Africa gather in the Catholic Church at Butiama, 35
miles from Musoma, Tanzania on Saturday, 4 December, 1999: eight lay members of
the Maryknoll Mission Association of the Faithful (MMAF); 11 Sisters of the
Maryknoll Congregation, and 12 members of the Maryknoll Society (10 priests, one
Brother and one seminarian). They join with Mama Maria Nyerere and other
relatives and friends to pray for Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, the former President
of Tanzania who died on 14 October, 1999. The Principal Celebrant is Art Wille
and the homilist John Sivalon. Liz Mach and Gertrude Maley read the Scriptures.
The feeling is a family spirit: small, informal, personal and friendly.

    It is a day of mourning. With heavy hearts we remember
this outstanding Catholic, husband and father, teacher, Founding Father of the
Nation and international statesman Julius Kambarage Nyerere. It is a day of
celebration. Wearing white vestments and using the Mass of the Resurrection we
pray for Nyerere’s final journey to heaven and his joining our ancestors in
Christ. A special time in the liturgy are the introductions of the Maryknollers
present. It is a touching moment when Lisa Nolan walks over and personally
greets Maria before introducing the MMAF members. Mary Reese does the same thing
before inviting each Sister to introduce herself. In their introductions many of
the priests and Sisters recall a special moment or anecdote in our long
relationship with Nyerere. In fact, from Maryknoll’s arrival in Tanzania in 1946
there has always been a warm bond of friendship and collaboration with Nyerere
and his family. In his homily Sivalon emphasizes that Julius Nyerere promoted
the spirit and practice of the equality of all people at all levels of life. He
recalls Nyerere’s simplicity and closeness to the ordinary Tanzanian people. He
describes a scene during the viewing of the body of Nyerere at the National
Stadium in Dar es Salaam. Among the thousands of Tanzanians who patiently wait
in line for hours, a woman with a baby on her back, a man on crutches and a
simply dressed young boy each walk by the casket, pause a moment, bow and
quietly pass on. A moving tribute to a great man of the people! Sivalon presents
Mama Maria with a monetary gift from the Maryknoll Family and announces that we
are giving the Nyerere family a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary for the grotto
near the family home in Butiama.

    Other highlights of the day include prayers at Nyerere’s
grave next to the family home and a meal with Maria and other family members.
The memorable day concludes with a variety of group photographs with Maria in
the picturesque setting of the large rock formations adjacent to the family
home.