{"id":76160,"date":"2025-09-05T12:12:52","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T12:12:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/?p=76160"},"modified":"2025-09-05T12:12:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T12:12:04","slug":"diocese-of-chipata-mourns-fr-benjamin-soko-and-sr-apronia-banda","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/diocese-of-chipata-mourns-fr-benjamin-soko-and-sr-apronia-banda","title":{"rendered":"Diocese of Chipata Mourns Fr Benjamin Soko and Sr Apronia Banda"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zambia. <\/strong><\/span>The Catholic Diocese of Chipata is mourning the deaths of Reverend Father Benjamin Soko and Sister Apronia Banda, who both passed away today at St. Francis Mission Hospital after a short illness.<\/p>\n

In a statement released by Auxiliary Bishop Gabriel Msipu seen by Breeze FM, Bishop Msipu described the loss as a great tragedy to the Diocese.<\/p>\n

Bishop Msipu says Fr. Soko, who was serving at St. Stephen Mbwindi Parish, will be laid to rest at Minga Parish, while Sr. Banda of the Good Shepherd Sisters will be buried at St. John\u2019s Katete Parish on Saturday, September 6, 2025.<\/p>\n

The Diocese has also announced the postponement of the Jubilee Celebrations, including the 40th Priestly Ordination Anniversary of Chipata Diocese Bishop George Cosmas Zumaire Lungu and the 25th Priestly Ordination Anniversary of Fathers Vincent Daka and Fred of the Comboni Missionaries which were scheduled for this Saturday.<\/p>\n

While conveying condolences to the bereaved families, friends, and the entire Catholic community, Bishop Msipu has appealed to the faithful to keep the departed in their prayers, asking God to grant their souls eternal rest and to comfort their grieving families.<\/p>\n

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

Africa-Press – Zambia. The Catholic Diocese of Chipata is mourning the deaths of Reverend Father Benjamin Soko and Sister Apronia Banda, who both passed away today at St. Francis Mission Hospital after a short illness. In a statement released by Auxiliary Bishop Gabriel Msipu seen by Breeze FM, Bishop Msipu described the loss as a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":76159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,12],"tags":[233],"class_list":["post-76160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-policy","tag-zambia"],"yoast_head":"\nDiocese of Chipata Mourns Fr Benjamin Soko and Sr Apronia Banda - Zambia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Catholic Diocese of Chipata is mourning the deaths of Reverend Father Benjamin Soko and Sister Apronia Banda, who bo ...\" \/>\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\/zambia\/all-news\/diocese-of-chipata-mourns-fr-benjamin-soko-and-sr-apronia-banda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Diocese of Chipata Mourns Fr Benjamin Soko and Sr Apronia Banda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Catholic Diocese of Chipata is mourning the deaths of Reverend Father Benjamin Soko and Sister Apronia Banda, who bo ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/diocese-of-chipata-mourns-fr-benjamin-soko-and-sr-apronia-banda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zambia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-05T12:12:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2025\/09\/sm_1757061913.139101.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"365\" \/>\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=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/diocese-of-chipata-mourns-fr-benjamin-soko-and-sr-apronia-banda#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/diocese-of-chipata-mourns-fr-benjamin-soko-and-sr-apronia-banda\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Diocese of Chipata Mourns Fr Benjamin Soko and Sr Apronia Banda\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-09-05T12:12:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/diocese-of-chipata-mourns-fr-benjamin-soko-and-sr-apronia-banda\"},\"wordCount\":209,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/diocese-of-chipata-mourns-fr-benjamin-soko-and-sr-apronia-banda#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zambia\/sites\/35\/2025\/09\/sm_1757061913.139101.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Zambia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/diocese-of-chipata-mourns-fr-benjamin-soko-and-sr-apronia-banda#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/diocese-of-chipata-mourns-fr-benjamin-soko-and-sr-apronia-banda\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zambia\/all-news\/diocese-of-chipata-mourns-fr-benjamin-soko-and-sr-apronia-banda\",\"name\":\"Diocese of Chipata Mourns Fr Benjamin Soko and Sr Apronia Banda - 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