A (another) new bishop

 

 

 

A (another) new bishop

I'm a little late for the blog, because the connection in Bangassou is tempermental, but also because I wanted to add an important event: the consecration of a new bishop in Central Africa.

I returned last night from Kaga Bandoro: a small town located in the center of the country, 350 km from Bangui, where the ordination of the new bishop took place.

The plan was to land in Bangui on Thursday, but the flight was first cancelled, then moved to Friday. So I was able to go to Kaga Bandoro on Saturday morning.

The road was good, apart from about fifty km of asphalt, where the potholes were numerous (and dangerous). After the first 200 km of asphalt, the rest was dirt, but quite well maintained.

We arrived in Kaga Bandoro at around 3:30pm, and around the cathedral there was great excitement for the episcopal consecration of the new bishop, Victor Hugo Carrillo Matarrana. A Combonian, born in Costa Rica, but has been in Central Africa for years. This diocese is entrusted to him, after the sudden death of the bishop, the Franciscan Tadeusz Kouzi.

One by one the other bishops also arrive: for an event like this, the entire Episcopal Conference rallies around the new bishop, as they did with me a few months ago!

Everything was well organised, despite the numerous arrivals (bishops, priests, friends, family of the new bishop) and the unexpected events.

After dinner, we bishops meet for a chat with Fr. Victor Hugo and Don Mimmo, secretary of the Nunciature.

Sunday the 17th is the big day.

I experienced it with a very intense emotion: the memory of my consecration is still very fresh! And I have known Fr. Victor Hugo for more than 25 years.

The celebration took place outdoors, in the shade of some large trees. The celebration area was covered by a large tent, and other tents were provided for guests.

Despite the immense crowd (5 or 6,000 participants!), the liturgy was very beautiful and well organized, and the participation was intense.

At the beginning, the bull (letter) of Pope Francis was read with the appointment of Fr. Victor Hugo as Bishop of Kaga Bandoro. After the reading of the Word of God, Cardinal Nzapalainga gave a beautiful homily, in French and Sango.

Then the strong part of the celebration began. The Cardinal asked some questions to the candidate, who responded publicly and agreed to take on this role. Then he laid on the ground, while the whole assembly prayed for him, invoking the Holy Spirit, through the intercession of the Saints.

Afterwards, in silence, we bishops laid our hands on him, and then the Cardinal read the prayer of consecration, while a Gospel was held open on the head of the ordinand.

It was almost done: after the anointing with the Chrism oil, there were the most "visible" rites: the ring, a sign of the Bishop's bond with his diocese, the mitre and the crozier.

Finally he was accompanied to the "chair": the seat from which he celebrates, and which represents his mission to guide and sanctify the people of God. All the priests of the diocese came to greet him, together with the representatives of all the parishes: now he is truly the new bishop of Kaga Bandoro!

The Mass continued, with the beautiful moments of the offertory (a cow even arrived!), the communion, the blessing of the new bishop who went through the entire assembly blessing and greeting.

The Mass ended around 12.30pm: it lasted 4 hours, but they flew by!

There was of course lunch, for I don't know how many hundreds of guests.

We immediately took to the road, around 2pm, to arrive in Bangui for 8pm, in the dark.

But there was a lot of light, after this beautiful day, on the Church in Central Africa!

 

 

 

La chiesa di Sibut
L'eglise de Sibut

L'offertorio
L'offertoirr

 

Saints, deceased and miscellaneous

 

Saints, deceased and miscellaneous

The first days of November are marked by two beautiful moments: the feast of all saints, and the memory of those who have passed.
Here in Bangassou, a few dozen meters from the cathedral, there is a beautiful cemetery where some missionaries and priests from Bangassou rest, together with many people. At peace, in the shade of the teak trees and the nearby forest.

These days Javier, Mons Aguirre's brother, Pablo, his nephew, and Alfredo, an excellent electrician, are also here in Bangassou.

They are very busy, especially with the "Fundacion Bangassou", which has supported the social works of the diocese for years.

Very nice and active, they come with many ideas (and excellent raw ham, jamon iberico!). They visit the nearest missions, some schools, the "Hope Houses", where a few dozen elderly people live, threatened because almost all of them are accused of witchcraft, and the "Maman Tongolo" (Mamma Stella) work, which welcomes more than 40 orphans here, near the cathedral, and another 350 in the city.

Just a couple of days ago Jypsie arrived, a little girl just a few weeks old, who lost her mother, who died shortly after giving birth to her.

Sunday, November 3rd is the day of the inauguration of the new parish priest of the cathedral, Abbé Honorè Zonon. The parish priest collaborates in a particular way with the bishop, who entrusts him with the care of the faithful of the parish.

It is a simple and beautiful ceremony, and the church is full of faithful.

In the following days I accompanied my Spanish friends, and in particular the electrician, to visit some missions and houses, to check the solar systems. Many are out of order, and it will take a lot of work and a lot of material (batteries, cables, inverters…). We tried to repair what we could, but when something is missing, or there is something to repair, the nearest hardware store is 750 km away, and it's not even well stocked!

I accompanied them to Lanommè, to Nyakari, to the hospital and to two parishes in Bangassou, and we tried to sort something out.

The plan was to leave Bangassou today, and Bangui tomorrow, but yesterday the flight from Bangassou was cancelled. Panic ensued in a search for any way to get them to the capital, and finally today they found a passage on a MINUSCA flight.

Being so far away and isolated makes life a little more difficult, and we need the prayer, affection and also the concrete help of many people. There is no shortage of all this, and the "Fundacion Bangassou" has been doing a lot for years.
And the time has come to take action in Italy too, to create a group, an association or a foundation to support Bangassou, and create opportunities for development, education and healthcare. Are you ready to lend a hand? Write to me here: p.aurelio.vescovo@gmail.com and let's go!

Jypsie, accolta da Mons Aguirre e da Suor Yolande
Jypsie, accueillie par Mgr Aguirre et soeur Yolande

 

Il centro per gli orfani Maman Tongolo
Le centre des orphelins Maman Tongolo

 

 

 

L'albero jacki con i suoi frutti
L'arbre jacki et ses fruits

In piroga sul fiume Mbomou
Balade en pirogue sur le fleuve Mbomou

 

 

 

La partenza
Le départ

 

 

And after the beautiful roads, flying to and from Bangui

 

And after the beautiful roads, flying to and from Bangui

Today is the Feast of Saints: a beautiful feast, which helps us to remember not only all the saints, known and unknown, but also remind us of who we are, and what we are called to. The hymn of praise, in French, has these beautiful words, "Aujourd'hui l'univers mets sa robe de gloire" (today the universe dresses in glory).

Last Wednesday I had returned from Zemio, and the next day I left for Bangui by plane. The road to Bangui is very very bad, and would take several days.

The UN currently has a flight service in the country. This is a service reserved for humanitarians, and it is for a fee. A round trip Bangassou - Bangui is very expensive (about 500 euros). But in some cases it is the only way to travel!  

The flight, if direct, takes one hour and twenty minutes. But often the plane makes stops in several cities to allow for cost optimization and to load and unload more passengers and cargo. On the outward flight, the flight was direct, but on the return it stopped in Bambari and Bria before landing in Bangassou.

The time spent in Bangui is always short: some shopping, some errands, but above all many meetings and visits.

So I was able to visit our seminarians in Bangassou, who after the second high school move to Bangui to the inter-diocesan seminaries: they are 33 young people, between high school, propaedeutics and theology.

On Monday morning I returned to Bangassou, and so was able to welcome Bishop Aguirre yesterday, November 31, who returned from Spain, together with his brother Javier, his nephew Pablo, and Alfredo, a volunteer electrician.

And off we go again!

 

L'arrivo di Mons Aguirre a Bangassou
L'arrivée de Mgr Aguirre à Bangassou

 

 

World Missionary day 2024

 

World Missionary day 2024

October is dedicated to the Missions, to a common aspect in the whole Church, in every part of its, that is the Gospel. And this month is dedicated to everyone who announce the beauty and the joy to be christian in all latitude.

The second to last Sunday of October is the proper day dedicated to the Missions and to the missionaries.

And also I not try to do bad impression!

Tuesday morning i celebrate the Holy Mass in the Cathedral, in Bangassou. The church is full of more than 1,300 children from the elementary school managed by the nouns. A lot of joy and noises, but is nice guide these faces, these smiles in the educative adventure.

Immediately I leave for Zemio, a mission 300 km est of Bangassou. I decided to go with the car, instead of the airplane. I know that it will be very tiring, but this will allow me to know this area better and  share the difficulties of the priest and of the people who live and work in Zemio.

We are still in the rainy season and the road is terrible: for the whole route, round trip, we met 3 motors and 3 trucks… and none cars. And a monkey crossed our street jumping from one branch to another of the forest.

When I told to my priests that I wanted to go with car, they encouraged me telling me that this way I would bless the road and the people will be encouraged.

We leave at 10 am, and we arrive at 4 pm after 150 km in Rafai, the Franciscan’s Mission.

The Wednesday’s journey is more difficult because of  mud, potholes and collapsing bridges. But we manage to travel the 150 km quite well and at 5 pm we are at Zemio, where the scouts welcome us to the church, where we meet the parish Father  Gervais with the Vicar Father Crepìn and the seminarist Medard.

It’s now dark here, but there is great joy because the Bishop is arrived!

They arrived from the villages (also from Dream, which is 130 km far away) for 3 day of catechesi and prayer, and for the Confirmation of 77 boys and girls, to which I will administer the Confirmation in the next Sunday, in a crowed church.

The life in Zemio is very difficult. A liter of gasoline is cost more than 5 euros, a sack of cement is cost 75 euros. The distance from Bangui, the roads devastated and the war have hit the population hard, which despite everything looks to the future with faith and courage.

In the city there are elements enrolled in the Wagner (Russian mercenary company). They are ex rebels (but not to much “ex”), which behave with a lot of arrogance without respect for the people…

Saturday evening we listen the bad noise of gunshot: then we come to know that were the mercenary which “celebrated” the return of their fellow soldiers.

In the past weeks they did some actions by killing some people who considered dangerous for them. This brought a lot of tension, and I see villages along the way that were inhabited by more than a thousand of peuls nomads at the end of July, and now are all abandoned…

Between Thursday and Tuesday I meet the very prepared and attentive guys who will receive the Confirmation and the community. I’m passing by to great the Muslim imam, who explain to me the hard situation where that live.

The celebration of the Confirmation in Sunday is very beautiful and intense. At the end, the parish and the moviments care some gift for the Bishop including a spear and a hand-woven lounger for my rest (I’m afraid that, even if it is made of wool, it will rust before I use it).

Also here there are the elementary and the secondary Missions’ school.

And even here there is a lot of work to be done and funded: painting the interior of the church, floors and doors of classrooms, assistance for refugees... Providence is great, and slowly we will do something!

Monday afternoon we set off 20 km, toward Tamboura, to meet the villages along this road and pray with them.

Tuesday morning, after meeting with the various parish councils, we leave at 9 a.m., hoping to get to Rafai, 150 km away.

We arrive at the bac (ferry) in Dembia, cross the river, and continue on. But shortly thereafter there is a truck sinking in the mud and barring our way. We attempt a detour, but we also get bogged down. 2 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.!

And, of course, it starts to rain! On the bright side, during the rain, mosquitoes and various insects leave us alone for an hour or so....

Dismantle, raise, dig, put the boards in, start again, re-assemble, re-scavenge, put the boards back in, re-start! In the end, it took more than 7 hours to make about 20 meters!

And so at half past midnight we arrive in Rafai: more than 15 hours for 150 km. I try to get some mud off my feet and hands, and collapse to sleep.

At 6 a.m. I celebrate Mass with Br Norman, a Polish Franciscan, and around 7 a.m. I leave for the last 150 km. And finally, at 2:30 p.m., we arrive in Bangassou!

Safe, sound and happy! Missionary life is very good!

Il fiume a Rafai
Le fleuve à Rafai

Foglie di manioca per il pranzo
Feuilles de manioc pour le repas

Scuola elementare, Zemio
Ecole élémentaire, Zemio

Tamboura

Villaggi abbandonati, vicino a Dembia
Un village abandonné par les Peuls, près de Dembia