The
Parish St. Michael and surrounding areas…
The feast of St.
Michael is a very important celebration for the Parish of Bozoum and the
surrounding Christian community and city.
In 1927
missionaries arrived in Bozoum and established one of the first Missions
outside the capital city of Bangui. The missionaries thought it best to put
this fledgling Christian community under the guidance and protection of St.
Michael, and so St. Michael’s Parish of Bozoum was born.
The liturgical
feast falls on September 29th (the same day as the feast for the archangels
Gabriel and Raphael). Here in Bozoum, September is the month when parish
activities are starting up again; from the opening of the local schools to the
starting of catechism classes. It is for
this reason, the celebration happens at a very interesting moment for the
Parish as well as for the town.
On Monday,
September 24th, we gathered with the catechists, the advisers and the people
responsible for the various events happening in the Parish, for a morning of
reflection and prayer. The theme was the personal call to sanctity (just as
Pope Francis calls on us in his letter “Gaudete et Exsultate”) which is meant
to be a guide to lead us in our everyday lives. On Tuesday, I met with the
catechists and we prepared for the upcoming catechism course: every year, more
than 500 children, young people and adults take part in our course which
introduces them to the Christian life and the Sacraments. On Wednesday, I met
with the councilors: in every Christian community there are chosen people who
have taken on the task of advising, helping and encouraging those in their
community. The councilors are the ones who identify the people in need
(spiritual or monetary), the sick and the elderly. On Thursday we started the Triduum,
3 days of reflection and prayer in preparation for the feast. I invited Fr.
Christo, a young Central African brother ordained in June. He will celebrate
his first Mass in Bozoum on the following Sunday. I also was able to write an
edition of the Bozoum paper, “Le Saint Michel”, (thanks to Paolo
Silvestro). Here is the link:
On Friday,
Evariste Constant and Benjamin, 2 actors of the touring company “Les Perroquets
de Bangui” (The Bangui Parrots) are arriving. They are excellent entertainers
and have just won the first prize on a famous program that promotes the best
comedians in the Ivory Coast at the level of French Speaking Africa. On
Saturday morning they gave a short show at our high school. Afterwards, they
worked with some of our students who were eager to learn about the art of
entertainment. That evening, in the church-square,
those students prepared a sketch that focused on the difficulties that married
women in villages face on a daily basis. It was a very thought provoking event!
On Saturday afternoon we had a beautiful Procession that wound its way through
a few neighborhoods, ending at our church.
Sunday was the
day of celebration: at 8:30am we had Mass that ended just before noon. There were seven infants baptized, at the
same time, about 40 adults from the St Vincent’s society, promised God to help
the poor. In the afternoon there were many games, unfortunately they were
disrupted by a short shower. Escaping the rain, about a thousand people arrived
at the theater for the last show of the Perroquets.
To LAUGH is
healthy, to live with JOY is one of the FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT and one of the
signs of the TRUTHS of what we believe in.
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| I Perroquets de Bangui al Lycée st Augustin |
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| I nuovi battezzati |
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