Rev Fr Odilo Weeger, CMM

CMM

CMM can refer to:*Center for Molecular Medicine , a research institute in Sweden*Coordinate-measuring machine, a device for dimensional measuring*Capability Maturity Model, tool for assessing processes in organizations...

(14 October 1912 – 8 June 2006) was a Roman Catholic pioneer missionary

Missionary

A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...

 with the Missionaries of Mariannhill http://www.mariannhill.de/dcms/sites/cmm/english/index.html in Matabeleland

Matabeleland

Modern day Matabeleland is a region in Zimbabwe divided into three provinces: Matabeleland North, Bulawayo and Matabeleland South. These provinces are in the west and south-west of Zimbabwe, between the Limpopo and Zambezi rivers. The region is named after its inhabitants, the Ndebele people...

, Southern

Southern Africa

Southern Africa is the southernmost region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. Within the region are numerous territories, including the Republic of South Africa ; nowadays, the simpler term South Africa is generally reserved for the country in English.-UN...

 Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. He arrived in Africa in July 1938 and was based at Mariannhill in Natal

Natal Province

Natal, meaning "Christmas" in Portuguese, was a province of South Africa from 1910 until 1994. Its capital was Pietermaritzburg. The Natal Province included the bantustan of KwaZulu...

, South Africa. He was later transferred to Southern Rhodesia

Southern Rhodesia

Southern Rhodesia was the name of the British colony situated north of the Limpopo River and the Union of South Africa. From its independence in 1965 until its extinction in 1980, it was known as Rhodesia...

 where he worked at St. Patrick's in Bulawayo before moving to Lukosi, near Hwange

Hwange

Hwange is a town in western Zimbabwe, in the province of Matabeleland North. It is named after the chieftain of Zwange, who is now called Chief Hwange. The town was known as Wankie until 1982. According to the 1992 Population Census, the town had a population of 42,581...

 in 1939.

Missionary work in Matabeleland

In the North

Matabeleland North

Matabeleland North is a province in western Zimbabwe. It borders the provinces of Midlands and Mashonaland West to the east and northeast respectively, and the province of Matabeleland South and the city of Bulawayo to the south. Its northern border is defined by the Zambezi river, while its...

 of Matebeleland, equipped with little more than a prayer book and a bicycle, he travelled around from St. Mary's Lukosi to Hwange, Victoria Falls, Matetsi and Gwayi River. He built and established many schools, including those in Gwayi, Binga

Binga

Binga District, now Binga North District and Binga South District, lies in the hot and arid Zambezi Encampment, the region that was once the territory of the tsetse fly.-Boundaries:Binga District is an area of land bounded by a line drawn from;...

, Dete

Dete

Dete is a small railway re-crewing depot and village on the Bulawayo-Hwange-Victoria Falls railway line in Zimbabwe, approximately north of Bulawayo and south of Hwange, lying within the Hwange National Park.-Features:...

 and Lupane

Lupane

Lupane can refer to :*Lupane District in Zimbabwe*Lupane triterpenes...

 and later went to Fatima where he opened a mission hospital and school.

With the help and support of friends in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, who were doctors, he opened St. Luke's Hospital in Lupane. In 1958, he returned to Bulawayo, where he was the parish priest at St. Mary's Cathedral. He was appointed Provincial Superior of Mariannhill Missionaries, a post he held from 1970 to 1982. He was Parish priest for many years of the Hillside

Hillside

-Places:Australia*Hillside, New South Wales*Hillside, Victoria, a suburb of MelbourneCanada*Hillside, Nova ScotiaUnited Kingdom*Hillside, Merseyside, a suburb of Southport*Hillside, Angus, Scotland*Hillside Animal SanctuaryUnited States...

 parish of Christ the King.

Odilo Weeger was awarded the Verdienstkreuz - Erster Klasse

Bundesverdienstkreuz

The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...

(Cross of Merit - First Class) by the Country of his birth, Germany, on 5th May 1989, for his work in Matabeleland.