One million!

 

Concerto di Capodanno
Le concert du 1er Janvier

One million!

 

With the end of 2024, the various editions of the blog (Italian, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, German, and Czech) have crossed the one million views mark. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

The year 2025 has begun: there was much anticipation and celebration in Bangassou as well. The Cathedral started the year with a prayer vigil and celebration of Mass.

On January 3, I left for Bangui by plane, together with Bishop Aguirre.

And on January 4, I left at 5:30 a.m. for Bouar: here the Carmelite brothers were celebrating because two young men made their solemn profession, making a gift to God of their lives, forever! One of the two, Brother Aristide, is from Bangassou!

On Sunday, Jan. 5, I celebrated Mass for the priestly ordination of two more young Carmelites, in Bouar Cathedral. It is one of the most beautiful moments in the life of a bishop!

I see the brethren again, and so many people from Bouar, Baoro and especially Bozoum.

As soon as Mass is over, I leave immediately for Bangui, where I arrive at 9 p.m. And I reflect that it takes me six hours to do 450 km, when the week before it also took me six hours to do the 75 km between Mboki and Obo!

I am in Bangui with Bishop Aguirre for the General Assembly of the Bishops' Conference. We are gathered with all the bishops and vicars-general from Monday the 6th until Tuesday the 14th: it is a time for budgets and reports from the dioceses and all the national commissions.

It is a precious time of listening and discussion, of sharing the hopes and sufferings of our communities, scattered all over the country. There is, however, a serene environment, full of respect and also of joy: we are not sad bishops!

On Friday all the bishops are received by the President of the Republic. It is a long meeting, lasting more than two hours, during which each of us presents the situation of our diocese very frankly. These are situations we know very well, places and people we have met, visited and, above all, listened to. And we really become the voice of the voiceless! And the president listens, takes notes, and then thanks us because he knows he has an accurate and truthful picture of the country. It is an uncomforting picture, but a useful one to try to make some improvements.

On Sundays all the bishops celebrate in the Cathedral, and the Message of the Bishops' Conference is read. A message of hope and encouragement for the Church and the people who are in Central Africa.

Pilgrims of Hope!

Bangassou (la base dei Caschi Blu)
Bangassou, la base de la MINUSCA

Bouar

Il saluto della Conferenza Episcopale a p.Norberto
La salutation de la Conférence Episcopale au p.Morberto

 

A Christmas as a bishop

 

 

Obo

A Christmas as a bishop

 

Many people have asked me what the first Christmas as a bishop is like.

It has been beautiful!

On Tuesday 24 I flew out to Obo, the easternmost parish of the diocese, 520 km from Bangassou.

I arrived late in the morning, and at 1:30 p.m. we left for Mboki, where we arrived after more than four hours, crossing the forest and encountering a few antelope and dozens of guinea fowl.

Mboki is a parish closed two years, due to the war. Throughout the area, and particularly here, the various rebel groups (UPC, Seleka, LRA, etc.) for years have made it a land of raids, looting, violence and killings: all along the road there is not a village left! Even these days, almost every night I hear some gunfire...

The pastor of Mboki, in April 2023, had been threatened and shot, wounding him in the arm.

For the past few months the area has been under the control of the regular military and Minusca, and life is slowly resuming.

I chose Mboki to celebrate this Christmas: it is here, where life is hardest and where people have suffered most that God is most at home!

We arrive greeted by so many people, and after a quick shower, I celebrate Christmas Eve Mass under two very large trees, forming one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the world!

The news of the birth of Jesus, God becoming man, is the most beautiful news, offering hope and dignity, especially to those who have suffered so much.

On the 25th we gather together with the whole community for Mass . The mayor, the head of the military and the imam are also there: it is a time of hope, and everyone wants to be there. In addition to Christmas, today I celebrate the baptisms of 4 children!

In the afternoon we visit the parish: the church is occupied by the Central African military, while the rectory has become the base of the Blue Helmets (Nepalese and Pakistani).

I also visit the elementary school: there are more than 600 pupils, and there are 6 teachers, all volunteers. So I make a decision to help the teachers (they are not paid, and the community should ensure their salary, but it can't!). I call them, and explain to them that every month I will give them a small amount (30 euros each), and they are very happy about it. This will help them to work better and more peacefully, and to secure the school for the whole year.

I also stop by to greet the imam, who greets us warmly, offers us tea, and we chat with him for a long time: the war was terrible, but it was a Muslim who rescued the wounded pastor and took him by motorcycle to Obo last year!

On the morning of the 26th we celebrate Mass, and after a visit to another group of military personnel, we leave around 9:30 a.m. for Obo, where we arrive at 4 p.m…. and it is only 75 km!

The flight to Bambouti, the town on the border with South Sudan, has unfortunately been cancelled. So we organize my presence and work these days differently.

Obo is a border land, and here, for decades, Sudanese, Congolese and Central Africans have found refuge. On Friday and Saturday we visit the various communities and chapels in the city, and on Sunday we celebrate a beautiful Eucharist, on the very day when, in all the cathedrals of the world, the bishops open the Jubilee of 2025. The theme is "Pilgrims of Hope," and it is a word that comes to touch deeply those who, for decades, have seen the various rebel groups come and go!

 

On Monday evening I celebrate Mass in a chapel in a neighborhood in Obo. Gathered here are the inhabitants of the road to Bambouti, who have had to leave their villages.

 

And here, too, the Word, the Word made flesh, illuminates our lives, and brings joy and dignity back to those in such need.

 

Tuesday 31, after a week, I return to Bangassou. Pilgrim of Hope: the Hope brought, but also the Hope received by the children, youth and adults of this extreme area of the country!

Ligoua

In strada per Mboki
En route pour Mboki

La scuola di Mboki
L'école de Mboki

Mboki