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

A warm Christmas!

 

 

A warm Christmas!

 

Christmas is upon and here in Bangassou we are also in the dry season.  There is a lot of sun as wella s dust.  During the day it is quite warm, with cooler nights.

Here too, with Christmas approaching, the wait becomes exciting. The choirs are already rehearsing Christmas carols with the children of the various schools, together with the rehearsals, they are also preparing skits and poems.

On Sunday I celebrated Mass in Lougoubga, a village 20 km on the road to Bangui.

On Sunday, in the two parishes of Bangassou, the two priests ordained on December 8 celebrated their first Mass.  In the afternoon it was time for the celebration in their communities of origin, with lunch, dancing and a lot of joy.

On Monday I went to Lanome, a parish 37 km from Bangassou. Here we are about to open two beautiful construction sites: the construction of the new church and that for the school.

The generosity of many (the church is being funded by the Pontifical Missionary Work, with the collections of the World Missionary Day, while the school is being funded by a generous family from Bologna) which will allow us to realize this dream. A dream for the village community, and a dream for the children of the elementary school.

I am writing now, because from Thursday onwards I will be in the area east of Bangassou. In the farthest parish (Obo), the one that has been closed for 4 years due to the war (Mboki) and in the farthest chapel (Bambouti) on the border with South Sudan and Congo.

It will be a very strong Christmas.

I will celebrate it in Mboki, where the people are suffering and are abandoned a bit by everyone.

I will celebrate on the 22nd in Obo, and on the 29th, the day of the opening of the great Jubilee, I will begin it in Bambouti.

It is beautiful and important that everyone, even the most distant, feel the warmth of Christmas, the tenderness of God, the joy of believing, the dream of Peace.

"Behold, I bring you good news of great joy" (Lk 2:10) says the angel to the shepherds on Christmas night.

"It is not a fairy tale, it is news, that is, information about an event that has happened; it is not a beautiful dream. It is a reality even more beautiful than what we would like to dream.

No man can escape his Creator, who pursues him, wants to reach him and bind him to himself. We cannot escape him, because his love runs faster than us.

You are deceiving yourself if you think you can avoid the Lord who came to look for you until the end. He will not give you peace, to make you truly reach peace." (G. Biffi)

Merry Christmas!

Buon Natale con Viviane
Joyeux Noel avec Viviane

Lougougba

A diocese on the move

 

A diocese on the move

Every year the diocese of Bangassou gathers for a large pilgrimage to Nyakari, a parish 15 km from the city.

For 4 days we live together, pray, sing, work hard and rejoice.

This year there were more than 2,500 pilgrims, who came from Bangassou, the parishes and villages of Bema, Ouango, Gambo, Lanome, Rafai, Bakouma, Nzacko... The furthest walked for more than 115 km!

From Bangassou I left at 7:45am on foot together with the seminarians and the older children from the Maman Tongolo orphan center. We crossed the city, and at the exit we stopped and then continued in small groups, praying the rosary and singing.

Part of the path was in the forest, where we had some shade. We walked quickly, and once we reached the bac (the large barge used to cross the river) we moved to the other bank, and at 10:45am we arrived at the Sainte Croix Parish of Nyakari.

There are already some pilgrims here, and others will arrive today, and in the following days.

In the evening we met in the sanctuary (a large shed with a statue of the Madonna), and here we opened the pilgrimage with Eucharistic Adoration.

On Friday we started with the catechesis. This year we chose the theme of the next Jubilee, and the family.

The catecheses were followed by moments of meeting and sharing in groups (first the movements, then by age groups), and all were well attended. There was great attention and the joy of discovering the beauty of a faith that is embodied in the life of every family.

Confessions were on Saturday afternoon. We were about twenty priests, and for almost three hours many people came to receive God's forgiveness and His Mercy.

Sunday morning there was the great closing Mass. This year we had the joy of ordaining two new priests, Julien Mbayoro and Placide Matchicou. It was the first ordination I have done in the diocese, and it was a great emotion to consecrate "my" first two priests!

The Mass ended just before midday with the blessing of the pilgrims' "sticks".

After Mass, we left for home. There was much joy, and the desire to share the beautiful things we experienced during these days.

 

I due nuovi sacerdoti, Placide e Julien
Les deux nouveaux pretres, Placide et Julien

Il bac
Le bac