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| Servant of God MaGabriel Mokhosi |
In the village of Tlokoeng in Lesotho, Eulalia Malebaka Mokhosi lived a faith that her community would remember long after her death. Affectionately known as MaGabriel or Nkhono MaGabriel, she was a Catholic mother whose devotion centered on the Eucharist and the Rosary. Local accounts remember her making the long journey from her home to Saint Gabriel Parish in Quthing to attend Mass.
The Senqu River lay along that journey. Stories preserved among the faithful describe her crossing it even during floods and arriving untouched by rain. These belong to the devotional traditions surrounding her life. They express the community’s belief that God protected a woman determined to reach the Holy Eucharist.
Her devotion was sometimes misunderstood. Local accounts report that neighbors accused her of witchcraft because of her use of sacramentals and the protection they believed her fields received. Those same accounts credit her with helping establish Bethel Parish in Phamong, bringing the life of the Church closer to her community.
MaGabriel died in 1932, but her influence continued within her family. A historical study of Catholicism in Lesotho records that, during a pilgrimage to her grave in 1944, her son Abraham heard a priest speak about his mother’s holiness. Having spent several years away from the faith, he expressed his desire to return.
Her cause for canonization was initiated under Cardinal Sebastian Khoarai, and the Church recognizes her as a Servant of God. Each year, pilgrims gather at her burial place in Tlokoeng to pray for her beatification. At the gathering in March 2026, Bishop John Joale Tlhomola remembered her mercy, charity, humility, and trust in God. Her story continues to call others toward the faith that shaped her own life.
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