Apostolic Nuncio bids farewell to Eswatini

By Bongiwe Zwane-Maseko

Archbishop Peter Wells, who is the Apostolic Nuncio, will be in Eswatini on a farewell visit from February 16-19. This follows his appointment by Pope Francis to Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.

“The Holy Father, Pope Francis, appointed The Most Reverent Peter Bryan Wells, Titular Archbishop of Marcianopolis, Apostolic Nuncio of South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, and Eswatini, as Apostolic Nuncio in Thailand and Cambodia, and Apostolic Delegate in Laos, on 8 February 2023, in the Vatican City State,” said the Inter-Regional Meeting of the Bishops of Southern Africa (IMBISA) in a statement. The Apostolic Nuncio’s visit was confirmed by Bishop Jose Luis Ponce de Leon, on his Facebook page.

“Just a few days to the visit of Cardinal Peter Turkson will be the main speaker at the Bishop Zwane Memorial Lecture. We will also have a chance to thank the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Peter Wells, for his loving care before he leaves our area,” he said.

Archbishop Wells’ visit will coincide with the Bishop Mandlenkosi Aloysius Isaac Zwane Annual Memorial Lecture at the Our Lady of Assumption in Manzini (Cathedral) this Saturday.

The guest speaker will be Cardinal Peter Kodwo Appiah Turkson, who is the Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, Prefect Emeritus of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, and Archbishop emeritus of Cape Coast (Ghana).

His address will be titled “Christian Non-violence and Just Peace.” Since its inception, the Annual Lecture has been given by some of the most well-known Catholic Church leaders such as Archbishop William Matthew Slattery, Emeritus Archbishop of Pretoria and former Director of the Secretariat at IMBISA, Fr Dumisani Vilakati, and has attracted audiences from across the entire Southern African region.