Andrzej Halemba

Fr. Andrzej Halemba – a Catholic priest, missionary, translator, former Director of the Centre for Missionary Formation in Warsaw and Secretary to the Missions Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of Poland, Polish Bishops’ Conference Delegate on Missionary Affairs, founder of Missionary Museum in Brzęczkowice, Poland.

Fr. Halemba was born on 19 November 1954 in Chełm Śląski, Poland, where he also attended primary school. In 1969, he enrolled in the Tadeusz Kościuszko High School in Mysłowice, where he developed his interests in anthropology and philosophy.

Theological Seminary in Cracow

After completion of High School exams in 1973, he entered the Theological Seminary of the Katowice Diocese in Cracow. Then he begun studies at the Pontifical Theological Department in Kraków, where he completed his Masters in Theology in 1981. He was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Herbert Bednorz in the Cathedral of Katowice on 3 April 1980.

Priestly work in Poland

Serving as an assistant priest in the ss Peter and Paul parish in Świętochłowice, he worked especially with a group focused on support for missionaries, the Children of Mary. He began to endeavor to join the missions himself. A meeting with the Senegalese Cardinal Hyacinthe Thiandoum from Dakar during Pope John Paul II’s first pilgrimage to Poland in 1979 had an enormous impact on this decision. The African cardinal caught the young seminarian’s attention by his directness, openness and wonderful sense of humour. Cardinal Thiandoum began to encourage Fr. A. Halemba to undertake missionary work.

Missionary work in Zambia as a Fidei Donum priest

After thorough preparations for departure, Fr. Andrzej spent 10 years in Zambia, beginning in 1983, and served on the Mambwe Mission in the Mbala Diocese (now Kasama). For two of these years, he worked on a translation of the New Testament into the language of the Mambwe people. The publication of this translation coincided with celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the Catholic Church in Zambia in 1991. In 1994, Fr. Andrzej published a Mambwe-English dictionary, which he had compiled over the course of his ten years as a missionary (1984 – 1994). The dictionary comprises 17500 entries and is the largest Bantu language dictionary in existence in Zambia.

Further studies at the Academy of Catholic Theology in Warsaw

In 1993 – 1994, Fr. Halemba embarked on further studies in Missionary Studies at the Academy of Catholic Theology in Warsaw, completing them with a licentiate entitled: Certain aspects of inculturation of the Mambwe people in light of Pope Paul VI’s Adhortation “Africae terrarum”.

Work for the Missions Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of Poland

In 1996, Fr. Halemba was appointed as Director of the Centre for Missionary Formation and Secretary to the Missions Commission of the Bishops’ Conference of Poland, and in 1999 he was entrusted with the additional duties of Delegate for Missionary Affairs. In this time, he initiated several projects and competitions, including a competition entitled: My friend from Africa’ and a ‘Missionary Olympiad’. He ended his work for the Polish Bishops’ Conference and the Centre for Missionary Formation in 2003.

Hobby

Fr. Halemba has collected memorabilia from his pastoral and missionary travels including objects of everyday use, art (mostly African, but also Indian and Papuan) and cult objects. To house these collections, he founded the Cardinal Augustus Hlond Missionary Museum which was opened on 12 January 2004 and is adjacent to the Parish of the Sorrowful Our Lady in Brzęczkowice.

Doctorate in Theology

In 2004, Fr. Halemba was awarded a doctorate in theology for his thesis entitled: “Religious and ethical values in the proverbs of the Mambwe people (Zambia)”.

Publications in Mambwe

In 2005, Fr. Halemba published a collection of folk tales and proverbs in the Mambwe and English languages. These publications have preserved many aspects of Mambwe tradition from oblivion. In 2007, Fr. Halemba went on to also publish an English – Mambwe dictionary based on the Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary which also included a comprehensive grammar of the Mambwe language, as well as a Roman Missal in the Mambwe language. In 2009, Fr. Halemba published a Bible for Children (“God Speaks to His Children”) and a three tome liturgical handbook for catechists (“Mambwe liturgical lectionaries A, B and C”) He is currently preparing two further publications: the Second Tome of African Folk-tales (English-Mambwe) and “The History and Customs of the Mambwe People” (Zambia).

Aid to the Church in Need (Kirche in Not)

Currently, Fr. Andrzej Halemba is working for the international organization ‘Aid to the Church in Need’ based in Königstein im Taunus (Germany). From 2006 to 2010 he was in charge of aid for English and Portuguese speaking countries of Africa.

Private initiatives

From 2005 onwards, Fr. Halemba has been organizing competitions for schools in the Mambwe- Lungu region in an effort to foster and preserve the rich traditions of the Mambwe-Lungu peoples among their children (folk tales, songs, dances etc.) Fr. Halemba has also been involved in the founding of the first pre-school and the first high-school on the Mambwe mission.

1. Andrzej Halemba (2005). Religious and ethical values in the proverbs of the Mambwe people, Zambia PART I. Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawniczo-Poligraficzna "Adam". ISBN 83-7232-627-4. 
2. Andrzej Halemba (2005). Religious and ethical values in the proverbs of the Mambwe people, Zambia PART II. Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawniczo-Poligraficzna "Adam". ISBN 83-7232-628-2. 
3. Andrzej Halemba (2011). Amapepo pa Wanda wakwe Leza na manda akulu. Mwaka A. Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawniczo-Poligraficzna "Adam". ISBN 978-83-7232-985-1. 
4. Andrzej Halemba (2011). Amapepo pa Wanda wakwe Leza na manda akulu. Mwaka B. Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawniczo-Poligraficzna "Adam". ISBN 978-83-7232-990-5. 
5. Andrzej Halemba (2011). Amapepo pa Wanda wakwe Leza na manda akulu. Mwaka C. Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawniczo-Poligraficzna "Adam". ISBN 978-83-7232-991-2. 
6. Andrzej Halemba (2011). Umulungu Utakatifu Uwanda ukulu wlpasaka Myaka A,B,C. Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawniczo-Poligraficzna "Adam". ISBN 978-83-7232-996-7. 
7. Andrzej Halemba (2007). English-Mambwe Dictionary and Mambwe Grammar. Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawniczo-Poligraficzna "Adam". ISBN 978-83-7232756-7. 
8. Andrzej Halemba (2006). Amapepo ya Cîta ca Minsa, Mu Cimambwe (Zambia). Mysłowice-Brzęczkowice: [mps]. 
9. Andrzej Halemba (2005). Mambwe Folk-tales (English version). Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawniczo-Poligraficzna "Adam". ISBN 83-7232-625-8. 
10. Andrzej Halemba (2005). Mambwe Folk-tales (Mambwe version). Warsaw: Oficyna Wydawniczo-Poligraficzna "Adam". ISBN 83-7232-626-6. 
11. Halemba Andrzej, Różański Jarosław (eds) (2003). Wybrane problemy szkolnictwa w Afryce Subsaharyjskiej. Warszawa: Komisja Episkopatu Polski ds. Misji. ISBN 83-7232-421-2. 
12. Halemba Andrzej, Różański Jarosław (eds) (2003). Historia i znaczenie przekładu Nowego Testamentu na język Mambwe, w: J. Różański – A. Halemba, Między przekładem biblijnym a teologią afrykańską,. Warszawa: Komisja Episkopatu Polski ds. Misji. ISBN 83-7232-420-4. 
13. Andrzej Halemba (ed. & transl.) (1997). Kościół misyjny, Podstawowe stadium misjologii (original: Following Christ in Mission. A foundational Course in Missiology, Sebastian Karotempler). Warsaw: Missio-Polonia. ISBN 83-8627-115-9. 
14. Andrzej Halemba (1997). Wkład polskich misjonarzy i misjonarek w dzieło misyjne Kościoła powszechnego, w: J. Guzowski, Misyjne zadania Kościoła w Polsce. Olsztyn. 
15. Andrzej Halemba (1996). Oczekiwania Kościoła w Afryce u progu roku 2000 w świetle Synodu Afryki i Adhortacji Apostolskiej Ecclesia in Africa, Nurt SVD 30(1996), s. 3-32;. Warszawa: Verbinum. ISSN 1233-9717. 
16. Andrzej Halemba (1995). Diecezjalne dzieło misyjne a udział diecezji katowickiej w misji ad gentes Kościoła powszechnego, w: W. Świątkiewicz, Kościół śląski wspólnotą misyjną. Katowice: Societas Scientiis Favendis Silesiae Superioris - Instytut Górnośląski. 
17. Andrzej Halemba (1994). Mambwe-English Dictionary. Ndola: Franciscan Mission Press Ndola. ISBN 9982-07-047-9. 
18. Andrzej Halemba. Zagadnienia inkulturacji w Afryce w okresie powstania orędzia Africae terrarum" Pawła VI", SSHT 25/26(1992/93). 
19. Andrzej Halemba (1993). Niektóre aspekty inkulturacji ludu Mambwe w świetle adhortacji Pawła VI Africae terrarum. mps. 
20. Andrzej Halemba (1991). Icipangano Cipya (New Testament in Mambwe). Ndola: Mission Franciscan, Mission Press Ndola.