Father Cornelius Mdoe OSB

Fr. Cornelius (Clement) Mdoe OSB

Fr. Cornelius was born and baptized as Clement in April 1968. His parents Martin and Maria were simple farmers who lived in Kongoi, one of the villages on the Usambara mountains. Clement was the fourth child in their family of eight children. From the very early days of his childhood, the boy Clement had a close contact with the Rosminian Missionaries who were running his parish. These Irish missionaries played a crucial role in Clement’s future life as a religious.

Even before finishing his primary school, Clement was introduced to Fr. Thomas Easterman, who was the vocation director. The boy had demonstrated a strong will to become a religious. With the help of Fr. Thomas Eastermann, Clement was sent to Franciscan Religious Seminary in Moshi from 1986-1992 as a candidate for the Benedictines. This was followed by a one-year national service until June 1993.

It was after his national service that Clement was able to begin monastic formation in Ndanda as a postulant. Between 1994-1997 Clement was a philosophy student at Spiritan Missionary Seminary in Arusha. This was followed by two years of novitiate in Ndanda from 1997 until 1999. This is the time when he received a new name: Brother Cornelius. It was the time of Abbot Sigfried Hertlein. After his first profession (3 July), he was sent to Morogoro, where he studied theology for four years. In 2023 he was able to make his final profession, which was soon followed by diaconal ordination. On 17 June 2004, Br. Cornelius was ordained as a priest by the late bishop of Mtwara – Gabriel Mmole.

Apart from the short periods he assisted in formation, Fr. Cornelius was a pastor in most of his priestly life. His first appointment was to Peramiho as assistant parish priest in 2004. Later he worked in St. Paul’s Parish in Mtwara between 2007-2012. From 2012 to 2016 he succeeded Fr. Konrad as a new parish priest in Nangoo. Abbot Placidus sent Fr. Cornelius to take over Sakharani Parish as parish priest, a task he faithfully fulfilled between 2016-2021. Towards the end of 2021 Fr. Cornelius was recalled to Ndanda as parish priest until 2023. At the time of his death, Fr. Cornelius was working as a chaplain for the Benedictine sisters of Imiliwaha at Mbande in Dar es Salaam.

Fr. Cornelius was a peaceful, responsible, hard-working, and loveable man. Those who knew and worked with him will miss his peaceful nature, his constant jokes, his social nature and his love for pastoral work.