Always learning

 

 

 

Always learning

Over the past few days we continued with the training for those in charge of the Christian communities of Baoro and the 17 villages we follow.

It is a big commitment, and also a costly one. We must foresee the reception, training, food, and travel of the participants. During Lent 2022, the diocese of Cuneo wanted to get involved with a campaign of brotherhood, which allows us to organize formations. After the catechists, last week was the time for the members of the Legion of Mary.  These days I am here in Baoro with the wives of the catechists, as well as counselors of individual communities (various Christians who offer help, advice and take responsibility of the small village church). Next month we'll wrap up with one week of training for the choirs of all the villages.

Saturday afternoon I celebrated Mass at Samba Bougoulou, a village almost 40 km from Baoro.

Sunday was my departure for Bangui, together with the two carpenters from Baoro; Patriot and Louis.

With them on Monday, from 7am to 6pm, we dedicated ourselves to the laying of the frames of 14 doors and 4 windows, in the construction site of the new convent. On Tuesday I was present at the site meeting, where we discussed the work done and the work to be done.

With the return of Fr Michael on Wednesday morning, we had time to follow the other jobs here in the area. We are having drawings mad, didactics in schools, thanks to the Czech organization SIRIRI.OPS: a great way to decorate the classrooms, but above all to involve the children.

In the meantime we opened another construction site in Kouisso Baguera, a village 5 km from Baoro, which will become a kind of sanctuary parish church, dedicated to Mary Help of Christians.

From today, Thursday, until Saturday morning we will have two groups in formation: the counselors, and the wives of the catechists. In the morning we have seessions with Sr. Renata on the dignity of women, and her role in the church and in society, but also on family planning. Now they are knitting together with Sr. Biagina.

We are now at the end of the rainy season, but the clouds get heavier on a country that is very close to the threshold of being unable to sustain what may occur: on the one hand the will of the Government and President is to modify the Constitution at any cost, and the Constitutional Court that opposes it. We will see what this force will bring to legality in Central Africa ...

Formazione dei consiglieri
Formation des conseillers

Formazione delle mogli dei catechisti
Formation des femmes des catéchistes

Cantiere del nuovo convento di Bangui
Le chantier du nouveau couvent de Bangui

Baoro

Gli affreschi didattici per le scuole
Les fresques didactique pour les écoles

Formazione Legione di Maria
Formation de la Legion de Marie

Long live the Mission

 

 

Long live the Mission

Next Sunday is World Mission Day: missionary life is celebrated all over the world, the beating heart of the Church, and at the heart of every Christian life.

Pope Francis reminds us that the heart of the mission, the heart of the Christian faith, is "to be witnesses of Christ. And it is a gift and a call for all Christians.

I, as a missionary, like to celebrate this day and this month dedicated to the Missions. I like it because it reminds me that being a missionary is a gift, a huge gift. A gift for which I have no merit. A gift that God and the Church have entrusted to me, despite my weaknesses and frailties.

On Saturday October 15th we celebrated the feast of Saint Teresa of Jesus, our founder. A woman full of love for Jesus, and full of love for the Church.

On Sunday October 16th I went to Igwe, a village of a dozen huts, 60 km from Baoro. The road was a forest path, and I got there after 2 hours of driving. The catechist, Robert, will be leaving next month for Bocaranga, to attend the school for catechists. The village is very happy with this step. I celebrated Mass under a thatched roof, and Christians brought peanuts, pumpkins and produce from the fields to the offertory, which they offered generously.

Tuesday and Wednesday I went to Bozoum. The water pump was not working, and I tried (unsuccessfully!) to fix it. It was an opportunity to greet the community, now made up of a Central African father, two Italians, one from Bolivia and a French brother. We are to review the following in Bozoum; the market, the rice cooperative, the people and the children.

This road was even worse: the last 60 km took more than 2 hours, and a lot of luck. There was a lot of mud, the road was flooded in several places, and there were holes over a meter wide.

I returned on Wednesday evening, and I received the news of the death of Fr Vittorio Corsini, a lifelong brother and friend. He was a missionary in Central Africa between 1975 and 1980, many Christians still remember him. I will remember him in prayer, in this missionary month.

 

Strada per Igwe
La route pour Igwe

Igwe

 

 

L'orchestra di Igwe
L'orchestre de Igwe

 

 

 

 

 

Along the way

 

 

P.Michael

Along the way

We are now in the last month of this rainy season. In a few weeks it will stop raining and for a few months not a drop will fall. The wind will pick up, and within 2 or 3 days, the humidity will drop from 70 or 80% to less than 20%.

The rest of the week I was in Bouar, for the pastoral meeting of the whole diocese. We finished on Saturday, after four days of work.

On Sunday I celebrated Mass in Bawi, a village 35 km from Baoro, on the road to Bangui.

I was with Fr Michael, a Central African confrere, and we continued the journey with him. In addition to the rain, we also encountered an accident: a truck had just flipped over, and we took three people, with minor injuries, to the Bossemptele hospital.

The state of the roads is getting worse and worse. The few repairs made in recent months are now ruined. There were big construction sites, financed (largely) by the World Bank: but most of the money went elsewhere. Certainly not in the repair work.

Added to this is the lack of fuel, which has dragged on since May and penalizes transport and the entire economy. Despite the passage of dozens of tankers every week, fuel remains mysteriously unavailable in Bangui. And when it is found, the price is double.

In Bangui I dedicated myself to the construction site on Monday and Tuesday. Together with Andrè, the convent's handyman, and with 2 young people from the community, we laid the sheaths and pipes in the third part of the slab between the ground floor and the first floor.

On Wednesday morning, at 5 am I resumed the road to Baoro. Despite the treacherous roads I managed to get there just before 12.

Bawi

Sul cantiere a Bangui
Le chantier de Bangui

Transumanza
La transhumance

 

Trainings and meetings

 

  

 

Trainings and meetings

On Sunday we ended the 3 days of retreat for the catechists of Baoro and of the villages with a great celebration.

During the Mass there were many people present, many with the "uniforms" of their respective movements. It is the celebration that marks the beginning of the pastoral year.

Lots of participation, many songs and dances, and an atmosphere of prayer and reverence. During the Mass the catechists renewed their commitment to the service of the Word of God and of the people with whom they live.

On Monday morning I left for Bozoum, because the community had been without water for a few days. I managed to replace the pump, and for now it works.

The road has gotten much worse in these rainy months. In some places you pass by, if possible, or you risk getting bogged down (like 2 large trucks that I found stuck halfway, almost drowned in a meter of mud). 10 km from Bozoum the road is submerged by the river for a long stretch, and with some luck I was able to pass,

On Tuesday morning we began the new school year for the young people of our Mechanical School: there were about sixty, young and motivated, and they came from even the very distant cities.

On Wednesday I left with Fr Stefano and Fr Michael for Bouar, where we participated in the Pastoral Session of the diocese: 4 days of meeting and formation, for all 14 parishes of the diocese. We were more than 100 people, including priests, nuns, catechists, and young people, representing each of the parishes. It was nice to meet everyone: there were differences in ages (we varied between 20 and 88 years old), different places of origin (we were at least 15 different nationalities), differences in training. But overall  we felt (and we are!) a family serving the kingdom of God.

 

Baoro

 

 

 

P.Stefano

 

La strada per Bozoum
La route de Bozoum

Scuola Materna "Il Germoglio"
L?école maternelle "Il Germoglio"

 

Inizio anno scolastico, Scuola Meccanica
Commencement de l'année scolaire pour lìécole mécanique

 

La diocesi in sessione
Le diocèse de Bouar en Session pastorale

 

Pausa caffé
Pause café

 

 

La cattedrale di Bouar
La cathédrale de Bouar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saint Michael

 

 

La nostra scuola materna, "Il Germoglio"
Notre école maternelle, "Il Germoglio"

 

Saint Michael

Today is the feast day of the archangels, Michael, Raphael and Gabriel.

Michael is the patron saint of the city and diocese of Cuneo, and of the parish of Bozoum, which celebrated its feast last Sunday.

Today, on the day of St. Michael, here in Baoro we began three days of formation for the catechists of the city and the villages. Between the catechists and help, there are more than thirty pf us. The beauty is that the financing of this formation (together with others that we will do soon), is the fruit of the Lent of Fraternity 2022 of the diocese of Cuneo.

Going back a bit, on Saturday and Sunday I celebrated Masses in Zoungbe and Balembe, two small villages 38 and 45 km from Baoro. The chapels of these two communities are made of straw, very simple. But the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice is the same as in a large cathedral.

Monday is the "official" day of the opening of schools in Central Africa.

While state schools, for the most part, show no signs of life, our village schools and our kindergarten classes came back to life, with many boys and girls.

Tuesday morning I left early for Bangui, for the usual meeting on the construction site, which is growing slowly. And the following morning I left for Baoro to welcome the catechists who arrived.

These will be days of learning, but also of encounter, which will allow us to better plan pastoral work in the 17 villages scattered across the savannah.

 

 

 

Zoungbe

 

Balembe

 

 

 

Le nuove divise
Les nouvelles ténues

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Formazione dei catechisti
Formation des catéchistes