Silence...

 

p.Cipriano ora
P.Cipriano aujourd'hui

 

Silence...

Sorry for the silence, but from Sunday, June 6th we were without a telephone and without internet. Suddenly the 2 telephone networks of Baoro shut down. One of the 2 (Orange) has not yet been re-established. Unfortunately it is the most widespread network, and through which we have our internet connection ...

It's been 10 days since everything has been disconnected. We hope that in a few days, or in a few weeks... the network will be re-established.

In the meantime, you can do without it! And life goes on!

Saturday and Sunday the 6th of June I went to Bocaranga for a special occasion. Father Cipriano Vigo, Capuchin, celebrated 61 years of mission work in Central Africa! He arrived here in 1960, when Central Africa was born, with their independence just achieved. He worked a lot then, and still continues to work now!

The journey (210 km from Baoro) went well. But the tension remains high. At one point a mine was also reported… But the joy of being close to a brother makes us forget many things!

This weekend I dedicated myself to visiting the most distant villages. I left on Thursday morning and returned on Sunday afternoon. I mainly dedicated myself to preparing baptisms in the villages of Yoro, Bayanga Didi and Sinaforo. But there I also had time to repair a pump, visit and advise some of the sick, and all of this on roads that were rather impassable...

Sunday morning I left around 6:30am from Yoro for Sinaforo (a good half hour, for 7 km). Here the church is a canopy covered by some metal sheets (obtained from petrol cans). Just as I am about to start Mass, the rain started. Fortunately, it rained very little in the chapel!

It was a very, very beautiful liturgy. We celebrated 9 baptisms, 2 first communions and a wedding. Despite the rain, there was a lot of partying in that hut!

I then left at 1pm, and I was afraid of not being able to arrive, precisely because of the road conditions.

At 3 pm I finally arrived in Baoro.

Where the blackout continues, and will continue for a few days (or a few weeks!).

P.Cipriano en 1960
P.Cipriano en 1960

Bayanga Didi

Sinaforo

 

 

Build

 

 

 

Build

The season of Baptisms and Sacraments begins, at least for me.

The path to becoming a Christian is the fruit of an encounter. The encounter is with God and Jesus Christ. Becoming a Christian is not (only) living according to certain rules. It is not even (only) believing in God. Nor is it (only) loving others. Giacomo Biffi, great bishop of Bologna, wrote that "even before a religion, a morality, a cult, a philosophy, it is an EVENT: the event of the Resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, which marks the beginning of the renewal of the people. Therefore it is timeless: unlike doctrines which are born, make a fortune, enchant for decades- perhaps for centuries, then they decay and die, while Christianity remains, precisely because it is a fact ”.

Here in Central Africa the path to receiving Baptism is quite long. Typically, it's 3 or 4 years of preparation. Preparation entrusted to the catechists, who in the villages are the heart of the Christian community.

After Confirmations, we now prepare for the various sacraments (Baptism and First Communions). Having already given my catechists their exams, on Sunday 30 May I went to Igwe, the smallest village. Despite a straw chapel, and despite the limitations of the catechists, everything was ready. Christians cut the grass around the church and put a tarp on the roof of the chapel in case of rain. Above all, the 8 were ready, between boys and girls who received baptism, and the two children of first Communion. Great celebration, but above all so much joy for such a great gift, and for the blessing of being in the Church.

Monday morning I left for Bangui, where I returned from today, Thursday. There were many meetings, and a lot of work to prepare the construction site of the new Carmel convent. We had to set up the machinery that will allow us to manufacture, on site, the more than 200,000 bricks needed to build the convent. The bricks are a mixture of part of earth, part of sand and a little bit of cement, and pressed with special machinery. We are waiting for the cement, which should arrive by river, from the Congo. It will take more than 4,500 bags of cement for the bricks alone!

Courage!

L'orchestra
La Chorale

I nuovi battezzati
Les nouveaux baptisés

Scuola di Agricultura "Carmel" a Bangui
L'école d'Agriculture "Carmel" à Bangui

Fabbricazione dei mattoni a Bangui
La production de blocs à Bangui