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