Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa

Alexio Churu Muchabaiwa (21 June 1939 – 8 January 2024) was a Zimbabwean Catholic prelate who was bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mutare from November 1981 until his retirement in May 2016. He was ordained a priest by Archbishop Markaal on 24 August 1968 at Mount St. Mary's Mission in Wedza in the Archdiocese of Harare. He was appointed bishop of Umtali (now Mutare) in 1981 and was ordained as a bishop of Umtali in 1982. He retired as bishop on 28 May 2016. Bishop Muchabaiwa died on 8 January 2024, at the age of 92.

Early life and education He was born on 21 June 1939 in Wedza District, Mashonaland East, in the Apostolic Vicariate of Salisbury in Southern Rhodesia. He attended Kutama Mission School, for his early education. He entered seminary in 1957, after overcoming initial parental resistance. Later in 1973 he graduated with a Diploma in Pastoral Theology from the Ggaba National Major Seminary in Ggaba, Kampala, Uganda. "He was ordained a priest in 1968, eleven years after joining the Seminary."

Priest On 24 August 1968 he was ordained a priest of Salisbury, Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) at the Mount St. Mary's Mission, Wedza, in the Archdiocese of Salisbury. The ceremony was led by Archbishop Francis William Markall, Archbishop of Salisbury. He served in that capacity until 5 November 1981.