Zimbabwe honours missionary priest

A Franciscan missionary priest has been posthumously honoured by the Zimbabwean Government for his contributions to achieving independence in the country and his subsequent charitable work there.

Fr Paschal Slevin, who died in Dublin on May 1 this year at the age of 83, was given the highest honour reserved for foreigners, The Royal Order of Munhumutapa, highlighting his basic humanitarian, rather than strictly political, contribution to the quality of life of the citizens of his adopted country.

To date only six individuals have received the award including former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda and the late Tanzanian President Julius Nyerere.

Vice-President of Zimbabwe, E.D. Mnangagwa said in a letter offering the government’s condolences to those who mourned Fr Slevin’s death, “The late Father was a real friend and benefactor of the people of Zimbabwe”, adding, that he “economically empowered the community that he lived in”.