17/09/2026
The Bishop who stood in front of a grader and said, "demolish me first"
IF you grew up in a Catholic home, the name Bishop Dennis De Jong may not be strange to you. You may have come across his name in Icengelo magazine and seen his face on the Catholic calendars hanging in our homes.
We heard stories about the man who dedicated much of his life to serving both the Church and ordinary people.
I remember growing up and listening to tribute songs by Fr Joseph Mutala and the Glorious Band.
For many of us who were growing up at a time when he had already gone to be with the Lord, Bishop De Jong was someone we knew even though we never had the privilege of meeting him.
He had already died by the time some of us were old enough to understand the work he had done, but somehow, he never felt like someone from the past. At some point in my life, I felt like he was still alive.
His name continued to live on through Catholic magazines, songs, stories and the people whose lives he touched.
And behind the name was the story of a Bishop who, at one point, stood in front of a grader that had been brought to demolish houses in Ndola’s Mackenzie settlement.
“Start with me,” he is remembered to have said. This statement stands out for me because it tells me he was a selfless man, one that captured the kind of Bishop people say he was, a man willing to put himself between vulnerable people and the destruction of their homes.
For those who had the privilege of meeting him, working with him or worshipping with him, Bishop De Jong was more than a Bishop. They describe him as a true servant of the people.
Today, September 17, 2026, marks 23 years since the death of the third Bishop of the then Ndola Diocese, now Ndola Archdiocese, Bishop Dennis Herold De Jong.
Bishop De Jong died “peacefully” in his sleep in Ndola on September 17, 2003, after serving as Bishop of Ndola from 1975 until his death.
Born on May 2, 1931, in Chipata, Eastern Province, he was the first born in a family of five children.
After completing his secondary education in 1951, he worked for a year as an untrained teacher at St John’s Missionary School in Harare, Zimbabwe.
He later travelled to Rome, Italy, where he underwent priestly formation from 1952 to 1958 and was ordained a priest on December 20, 1958.
He went on to obtain Master’s degrees in Philosophy and Sacred Theology before studying education in London from 1959 to 1960.
After returning to Zambia, he was appointed Rector of Francisdale Minor Seminary in Ndola.
He later served as Vicar General of Ndola from 1967 to 1970 before being appointed Bishop of Ndola on July 10, 1975.
He was ordained Bishop on September 28, 1975.
Bishop De Jong is remembered for his evangelisation and social programmes, including the establishment of Radio Icengelo, Zambia’s first Christian radio station.
He also facilitated programmes in areas such as HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment, paralegal services, organic farming and social housing for vulnerable people.
He promoted life and faith programmes for Catholic teachers, with termly programmes held at deanery level, initiatives remembered by some as rich and useful.
His work also earned him recognition beyond the Catholic Church.
From 1978 to 1984, he served as President of the Zambia Conference of Catholic Bishops, and from 1987 to 1990, he served as President of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern and Central Africa (AMECEA).
In 2001, he received the Africa Prize for Leadership from The Hunger Project in New York for his work in establishing an integrated HIV/AIDS programme in Zambia.
And just months before his death, on June 28, 2003, the Rotary Club of Ndola honoured him as the Best Citizen of the Year for his outstanding community and social work on the Copperbelt.
He also founded the Congregation of the Bethany Sisters, an institution that has continued beyond his death.
Bishop De Jong was buried on September 20, 2003, at the Cathedral of Christ the King Parish grounds in Ndola.
Kalemba
