‘God’s Time’ Arrives: Central Africa Province Ordains First Women Priests in Historic Botswana Service

In a landmark moment for the Anglican Communion, fourteen women have been ordained as priests in the Church of the Anglican Province of Central Africa—the first such ordinations in the province’s history. The service, held earlier this month at the Holy Cross Cathedral in Gaborone, Botswana, drew a distinguished congregation including South Africa’s First Lady, Dr. Tshepo Motsepe, and Archbishop Albert Chama, Primate of Central Africa. Bishops from Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, the United States, and the Church of England joined Lutheran representatives to witness what the Bishop of Botswana called a “defining moment” and a “major turning point for the Church in the country.” Among the newly ordained was Rev. Beauty Autlwetse, the first woman priest in the Diocese of Botswana, followed swiftly by thirteen others. The ordinations followed years of internal debate, culminating in a November 2023 motion passed by the Diocese of Botswana and seconded by the Diocese of Harare, which authorized willing dioceses to move forward.

For those who had waited a decade or more, the day was nothing short of miraculous. Rev. Canon Dr. Rachel Mash exulted, “Praise God that doors are now opening. Some of these sisters have been waiting for 10 years and some have reached retirement age. Nothing is impossible with God!” The Bishop of Pretoria, who preached at the service, reminded the new priests that true leadership mirrors Christ: “The world often associates leadership with power, status and visibility, but the Church must never forget that its saviour washed feet before he carried the cross.” While the ordination of women is now widely permitted across most of the Anglican Communion’s 42 provinces—especially in Europe, the Americas, and parts of Africa and Asia—a handful of provinces still do not ordain women, and others permit it only in certain dioceses. Yet on that morning in Gaborone, history bent toward justice. As Archbishop Chama put it, the moment reflected “God’s time”—and for fourteen sisters in Christ, that time had finally come.