Fr Emmanuel Ribeiro passed away on the 18th June 2021 and was declared a National Hero by the government of Zimbabwe. This is an honour that is appreciated by most Catholics in Zimbabwe, who however feel that rather than him being buried at the national shrine, he should be buried at Chishawasha, with other priests and still retain his national hero status.

We are appealing to the Catholic Church hierarchy in Zimbabwe to intervene so that we do not break the established tradition where priests are buried in their own cemeteries.