Chilima was speaking during the 50th Anniversary Celebration of St. Kizito Minor Seminary in Traditional Authority Kachere in Dedza District.

The Vice President observed that some entities of the Catholic Church, like St Kizito Seminary, are operating smoothly which he said needed to be sustained.

Chilima, therefore, applauded the priests tasked with the day to day operations of St. Kizito Seminary and the teaching of students, for doing a commendable job.

“I would like to commend the board members of St. Kizito for ably managing finances of the seminary over the years which has made the institution to sustain its operations for 50 years.

“Let me ask all Catholic institutions to be financially independent and avoid corruption that may lead the institutions into bankruptcy,” appealed Chilima.

He reminded the gathering at the function that financial prudence and independence are vital for the survival of any institution, including the church.

In his remarks, Archbishop Tarsizio Ziyaye of Lilongwe Archdiocese, a former student of the seminary himself, asked parents not to force their children to become priests, saying priesthood is a calling from God.

"The reason why we have a number of problems in our seminaries, like dropouts and misconduct, is because a good number of our children are forced by their parents to become priests, it is not their own volution,” Ziyaye said.

St. Kizito Minor Seminary was established in 1968 by the late Rt. Rev. Cornelius Chitsulo, the first bishop of Dedza Diocese and to date, the seminary has trained 1000 students and produced 90 priests who are serving in different Catholic parishes in the country.

The celebrations gathered bishops, priests, nuns, government officials, members of parliament and Christians from all the dioceses across the country.