A LIFE IN GRACE: FAREWELL TO CARDINAL POLYCARP PENGO.

By Christopher Makwaia

On August noon in forty-four, beneath Tanganyika’s sky,

In Mwazye’s quiet parish land, a child began to cry.

The sixth of nine, yet heaven-marked before the world could see, A shepherd chosen long before he bent his first small knee.

 

His sister saw the spark in him and made a solemn vow, To guard his dream with sacrifice, though trials pressed her brow.

Her youth she gave, her wages too, his schooling to defend, So he might serve the Lord of Life until his journey’s end.

 

Through Karema’s halls and Kaengesa’s rising gleam,

Through Kipalapala’s sacred books and nights of ceaseless stream,

His mind grew luminous, his spirit ardent, his purpose living beam,

A leader formed by discipline, by prayer, by sacred theme.

 

Ordained a priest in seventy-one, still humble, still afraid,

Yet faithful to the call of God, whatever price was paid.

In Rome he drank from ancient wells of moral truth and grace,

Then hastened home to serve his land, not seek a higher place.

 

A bishop young in Nachingwea, in Tunduru he stood, To build where little yet was formed, to plant where none yet could.

Though fear would knock upon his heart whenever roles were new,

His answer was obedience, God’s will he would pursue.

 

In Dar he rose to guide the flock where giants once had been,

A Cardinal in scarlet red, yet simple still within.

He asked, “Why beg for distant grain when ours can fill the bowl?”

And taught the Church to stand upright in dignity of soul.

 

From twenty parishes he dreamed of one hundred in their place,

They doubted such a vision vast could ever run that race.

But when he laid the crozier down and passed the charge along,

One hundred eighteen stood in faith, his vision proved them wrong.

 

For death to him was not defeat, nor darkness, nor despair,

But simply door to promised glory beyond all earthly care.

The pilgrim laid his labors down where saints and angels sing,

And entered joy no mortal tongue could fully name or bring.

 

Though on 19 February he left this earthly state,

On 28 February, in solemn farewell we congregate.

Not stripped of honor, nor lost to sight,

But clothed in dignity, in hallowed rite.

 

A priest for decades he faithfully stood,

A guide in truth, in strength, in good.

A bishop, archbishop, cardinal upright,

A conscience steady in nation’s sight.

 

Eternal rest, O Lord, bestow,

Let endless light upon him glow.

May he who led with faithful hand

Now dwell within God’s promised land.

 

And when the final trumpet rings,

And time surrenders all its kings,

May the shepherd, his flock, and the Church above,

Rejoice in resurrected love.

 

His spirit whispers still,

Through every heart he touched, through every faithful will.

Though tears may fall, his love will never fade,

A shepherd, father, guide, forever ours to aid.

Thank you.

Written by Christopher Makwaia

Tel: +255 789 242 396

The writer, is a University of West London graduate (formerly Thames Valley University) and an expert in Management, Leadership, International Business, Foreign Affairs, Global Marketing, Diplomacy, International Relations, Conflict Resolution, Negotiations, Security, Arms Control, Political Scientist, and a self-taught Computer Programmer and Web Developer.