after Bozoum, news from Bangassou: The building site of Independence

Sunday, August 21, 2022

The building site of Independence

Baoro

The building site of Independence

On August 13, 1960, Central Africa became independent from France. These were years of great hope, great struggles and great dreams: a historic moment for millions of people.

Central Africa is now 62 years old. Few, yet many.

Few, because it is a young country.

Many, because when we look back at the initial dreams for a prosperous country, dreams are what many have remained. The first president, Barthélémy Boganda, had dreamed of a country founded on the slogan "Unité, Dignité, Travail" (Unity, dignity, work), and had chosen 5 verbs to be conjugated in all possible and imaginable ways: "Loger, éduquer, vêtir, soigner, nourrir "(giving a home, educating, clothed, caring and nourishing).

There is still a long way to go, but it has becoming increasingly urgent to respond to the essential needs of the 4/5 million inhabitants.

On Friday, the eve of Independence Day, the authorities invited themselves to our parish (and to the churches and mosques of the city) for a moment of prayer.

Saturday was a more festive day, even if the big holiday is actually December 1st (the anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic).

I am practically healed, and so I resumed work.

On Sunday I was in Bawi to celebrate Mass. On Monday morning I left for Bouar. Some of the students from our Bangui School of Agriculture travelled with me and have been here and in Bouar for 2 weeks of a practical internship. This is one of the (many) hopes of the country.

In Bangui, work on the new convent continues. On Tuesday, they made the casting of the second part of the slab between the ground floor and the first floor.

Tuesday afternoon was time to say goodbye. Archbishop Santiago de Wit Guzmàn, the Apostolic Nuncio, has ended his mission in the upcoming days. He is the Pope's ambassador to Central Africa, and his role is also (or above all) to represent the unity of the universal Church in the Church that is in this country.

We have known each other for years, because he had been in Central Africa between 1998 and 2001, as secretary of the Nunciature. He invited me, along with a dozen friends, to the ceremony in which the President of the Republic will officially greet him and give him an honor.

So at 3 pm, we found ourselves in the Palais de la Renaissance (the Presidency), where the simple but heartfelt ceremony took place. The Church, in Central Africa, plays a precious role, for all the inhabitants, with the proclamation of the Word of God, which takes concrete form in hundreds of schools, hospitals, dispensaries, chapels and churches, even in the most distant places.