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The diocese of Polokwane recently hosted a befitting honour in respect of one of its icons, Very. Rev. Fr. Clemens Selemela, who achieved the milestone of 40 years as a diocesan priest.
Very Rev. Fr. Selemela, the current diocesan Vicar-General, was ordained the priest on the 16 December 1981, then aged 27.
He has grown to become one of the voices of reason in the diocese, maturing spiritually and experienced in a diversity of life situations which he experienced in his priestly life.
Bishop Jeremiah Masela was full of praises to one of his priests, saying Fr. Selemela remained a reliable and dependable Parish Priest whose wisdom, experience and simple approach to life situations had made him a formidable and resilient person to whom they always turned to as and when circumstances dictated.
“He is our bigger brother in the diocese. He is our elder in many respects, both age-wise and in terms of his years of service in the Catholic Church. We could not have asked for a better gift to our diocese than the presence of Fr. Selemela who continues to nourish us with his counsel, guidance and in-depth knowledge,” Bishop Masela said during his address.
He recalled many life incidents where he had to reach out to Fr. Selemela “both as my elder brother, Vicar General, but also importantly as someone who has weathered many storms and yet remains resilient and as strong as always particularly in his Catholic beliefs”.
Born at Doornspruit village in Ga-Mashashane on the 7th April 1954, Fr. Selemela grew up herding cattle of his grandparents. He went to school at Paxana and later Pax College before embarking on his religious journey.
He never looked back.
Sequel to his priestly ordination, his superiors saw a potential in him and allocated him key religious responsibilities at Doornspruit. Soon he developed and was ready to be assigned to other parishes including Seshego, Mokopane, Turfloop, Lephalale, Cathedral (Polokwane) and is now at Ga-Ramalapa parish at Ga-Matlala.
He recently turned 70 and uses his time to write books to reflect of his priestly journey which he believes will help motivate younger priests and the broader society.
He is known as the ‘Garden Man”. This is as he spends most of his time in the garden, ploughing vegetables to which he shares with his parishioners.
“Gardening is my other passion. I find healing in growing vegetables. But what most people do not know is that as and when I am in the garden I am actually planning and thinking in a relaxed space. I plan my sermons, chapters in the books, and other strategic inputs which I need to the ministries in the Catholic Church that I am assigned to as the spiritual leader,” he points out.
“Besides, I am a rural man. I enjoy spending time with elderly people as they tell one stories that help develop me. I am never tired to listening to the stories of elderly people, their past living experiences and how they seek to influence today’s youth. I bet with my last cent that today’s youth need elderly guidance to be able to live longer, healthier and rich with knowledge,” Fr. Selemela said.
He paid tribute to his grandparents who according to him “set a foundation for my destiny”. He said her grandmother Koko Scholastica would say “Tsogang, tsogang, tsogang” waking her grandchildren to prepare themselves to go to church in the early hours of every Sunday. He would walk 3 kilometres to church every Sunday with his grandparents and cousins and they never missed church despite the long distance they were walking. He alluded that “I think my response to Tsogang, tsogang, tsogang” could have been the beginning of my vocation”. He concluded by paying tribute to the late Rev. Father Gerald Bam for his contribution and guidance throughout his journey to priesthood.
