TANZANIA EPISCOPAL CONFERENCE
ABOUT US
Historical Background
Historical traces indicate that when Tanganyika came under a firm control of the political power of the time in early 1910s’ the Bishops began to feel the common bond between them, based on territorial and national unity.The first national conference of the Ordinaries of Tanzania was held from 22nd – 26th July 1912 in Dar es Salaam and attended by six Ordinaries. The purpose of this meeting was to get to know each other and to lay foundation for further meetings. The second meeting was planned to be held in Tabora in 1915.
Unfortunately the First World War Intervened and the meeting had to wait until 1925.
The war and its aftermath had created a number of challenges that necessitate the bishop to be more organized. The meeting were frequent in the interval of 3 to 4 year until it was intervened by the World WarII.As it was for the post 1st World War, this time a number of national issued emerged which could hardly be solved by individual bishops. Some problems were common to all the bishops and could only be solved efficiently by concerted action of all the bishops. Thus a continuous sequence of meetings which were held in 1946, 1951, 1952 and 1956.
The Conference of 1956 decided that time had come in Tanganyika to establish formally a national organization of all Bishops and to open permanent central office in the capital of Dar es Salaam. The organization was then officially born in the name of Tanganyika CATHOLIC WELFARE CONFERENCE(TCWC).
The activities of the organization were vested in six departments or sections namely: Education, Medicine, Social Welfare, Publicity, Legal Affairs and Insurance.
In the October 1957 Statutes of the organization were in place and the name changed from Tanganyika Catholic Welfare Conference to became Tanganyika Catholic Welfare Organisation (TCWO).
In January 1958 the organization was officially registered by the Government under the Societies Registration Ordinance. The organization letter was registered as Trustees under the Trustee’s Incorporation ordinance. With Tanganyika getting its political Independent in 1961 the name of the organization changed into Tanganyika Episcopal Conference. Its current name come as a result of the new Status of this country after the Union of Tanganyika and Zanzibar. Thus in 1964 the organization became the Tanzania Episcopal Conference (TEC)
What is TEC?
TEC is the assembly of the Bishops of Tanzania whereby according to the norms of law, certain pastoral functions are jointly exercised on behalf of Christ’s faithful in view of promoting that greater good which the Church offers to all people especially through forms and programs of the apostolate which are fittingly adapted to the circumstances of our time and country.
Membership:
-
Members of the Tanzania Episcopal Conference
-
All diocesan bishops
-
All those who are made the equivalent of diocesan bishops in the law
-
Coadjutor bishops
-
Auxiliary bishops
-
Other titular bishops who carry out particular functions mandated by the Apostolic See or by the Conference itself.
Operation:
The full authority of the Conference is vested in the Plenary Meeting of the Conference.
The decisions of the Plenary meeting is carried and by:
1) The President of the Conference with the Permanent Council of Bishops
2) The General Secretary of the Conference
3) The Department, Commissions, Committees and the National Institutes.
Leadship:
1) The President of the Conference is Most Rt. Rev. Tarcisius Ngalalekumtwa.
2) Pro-President is Most Rt. Rev. Beatus Kinyaiya Ofm.Cap
3) The General Secretary is Rev. Fr. Raymond Saba
The Catholic Secretariat is made of nine Departments and twelve Commissions.