{"id":62694,"date":"2024-08-18T12:32:06","date_gmt":"2024-08-18T12:32:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death"},"modified":"2024-08-18T12:36:05","modified_gmt":"2024-08-18T12:36:05","slug":"chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death","title":{"rendered":"Chakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. <\/strong><\/span>Lilongwe, Malawi<\/b> \u2013 President Lazarus Chakwera is set to meet Pope Francis in Vatican City for the first time, just two months after the tragic death of Vice President Saulos Chilima in a plane crash last June.<\/p>\n

The government has yet to confirm whether President Chakwera\u2019s visit is directly connected to Chilima\u2019s death<\/b> last June. However, the timing has raised a fury of speculation.<\/p>\n

Chilima was a devout and practicing Catholic.<\/p>\n

Following his death, the Catholic Bishops in Malawi called for a thorough investigation amid ongoing allegations of foul play. During Chilima\u2019s funeral, His Grace Archbishop Thomas Luke Msusa of the Archdiocese of Blantyre openly voiced the Church\u2019s concerns over the circumstances surrounding the Vice President\u2019s death<\/b>. The archbishop noted that \u201cseveral questions\u201d about the plane crash remained unanswered.<\/p>\n

The Catholic Church in Malawi<\/b> also suggested Chilima as a candidate for sainthood. While acknowledging that the process of sanctifying someone as a saint typically takes about five years, Archbishop Msusa urged the Church in Vatican to consider an early assessment of Chilima for possible canonization.<\/p>\n

Barely a month after the tragic accident, the Catholic Bishops of Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe also met with President Chakwera. Discussions of their meeting were kept under wraps.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, several Catholic Churches across the region and globally have held memorial masses in honor of Chilima.<\/p>\n

The plane crash on 10 June 2024 in Chikangawa Forest claimed 10 lives. Victims include former First Lady Patricia Shanil Zimbiri Muluzi, another devout Catholic devout.<\/p>\n

This upcoming Vatican meeting marks the first time President Chakwera will meet with the Pope. It is also the first time Chakwera is visiting the Vatican.<\/p>\n

President Chakwera\u2019s trip to the Vatican also coincides with his visit to Germany, the country that officially conducted the investigation into the fatal accident involving the Malawi Army\u2019s Dornier jet.<\/p>\n

The government of Malawi has remained silent on whether both trips are linked to Chilima\u2019s death.<\/p>\n

In unrelated news, Catholic bishops in Malawi have been criticizing Chakwera, stating that under his leadership, the country is witnessing a \u201cglaring failure of leadership.\u201d Chilima was considered a strong contender against Chakwera in the 2025 Malawi presidential elections.<\/p>\n

In a Facebook post, former President Joyce Banda likened Chilima\u2019s death to previous assassinations<\/b> and unexplained deaths of people holding dissident views during the era of the Malawi Congress Party. Banda said Chilima\u2019s death evoked memories of the infamous Mwanza murder.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1983, four Ministers and an MP were abducted and slaughtered like chicken in Mwanza in the forest. I was old enough to witness…this time around!!! Losing nine people Eeeeish. The majority of them I have known. Most painful for me is the death of my son Saulos and my sister-in-law Shanil Patricia A Nadzimbiri\u201d, said Banda.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Malawi Follow Africa-Press<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. Lilongwe, Malawi \u2013 President Lazarus Chakwera is set to meet Pope Francis in Vatican City for the first time, just two months after the tragic death of Vice President Saulos Chilima in a plane crash last June. The government has yet to confirm whether President Chakwera\u2019s visit is directly connected to Chilima\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":62693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[533,306,234,240],"class_list":["post-62694","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-elections","tag-lazarus-chakwera","tag-malawi","tag-saulos-chilima"],"yoast_head":"\nChakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Lilongwe, Malawi \u2013 President Lazarus Chakwera is set to meet Pope Francis in Vatican City for the first time, jus ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Chakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Lilongwe, Malawi \u2013 President Lazarus Chakwera is set to meet Pope Francis in Vatican City for the first time, jus ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-08-18T12:32:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-18T12:36:05+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/08\/sm_1723971939.183017.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Chakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-18T12:32:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-18T12:36:05+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death\"},\"wordCount\":482,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/08\/sm_1723971939.183017.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"elections\",\"Lazarus Chakwera\",\"Malawi\",\"Saulos Chilima\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death\",\"name\":\"Chakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death - Malawi\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/08\/sm_1723971939.183017.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-08-18T12:32:06+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-18T12:36:05+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"Lilongwe, Malawi \u2013 President Lazarus Chakwera is set to meet Pope Francis in Vatican City for the first time, jus ...\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/08\/sm_1723971939.183017.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/08\/sm_1723971939.183017.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":960,\"caption\":\"Chakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Chakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/\",\"name\":\"Malawi\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Chakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death - Malawi","description":"Lilongwe, Malawi \u2013 President Lazarus Chakwera is set to meet Pope Francis in Vatican City for the first time, jus ...","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Chakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death","og_description":"Lilongwe, Malawi \u2013 President Lazarus Chakwera is set to meet Pope Francis in Vatican City for the first time, jus ...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death","og_site_name":"Malawi","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2024-08-18T12:32:06+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-08-18T12:36:05+00:00","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":960,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/08\/sm_1723971939.183017.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Chakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death","datePublished":"2024-08-18T12:32:06+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-18T12:36:05+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death"},"wordCount":482,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/08\/sm_1723971939.183017.jpg","keywords":["elections","Lazarus Chakwera","Malawi","Saulos Chilima"],"articleSection":["all news","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death","name":"Chakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death - Malawi","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/08\/sm_1723971939.183017.jpg","datePublished":"2024-08-18T12:32:06+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-18T12:36:05+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"Lilongwe, Malawi \u2013 President Lazarus Chakwera is set to meet Pope Francis in Vatican City for the first time, jus ...","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/08\/sm_1723971939.183017.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2024\/08\/sm_1723971939.183017.jpg","width":960,"height":960,"caption":"Chakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/chakwera-to-meet-pope-two-months-after-chilimas-death#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Chakwera to Meet Pope Two Months After Chilima\u2019s Death"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/","name":"Malawi","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62694","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62694"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62694\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62694"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62694"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62694"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}