after Bozoum, news from Bangassou: December 2025

Friday, December 19, 2025

The "Beautiful Feet" of the Messengers of Peace

Zemio

The "Beautiful Feet" of the Messengers of Peace

December 18, 2025

"How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who announces peace!" (Isaiah 52:7).

So writes Isaiah, and so I repeated tonight!

I just returned from Zemio, where for two and a half days we tried to sow peace.

Here in Central Africa in 2012, a bishop, a pastor, and an imam started the PLATFORM OF RELIGIOUS LEADERS. Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, Pastor Nicolas Guerekoyame, and Imam Kobine understood, even before the war, that it was necessary to unite to avoid war. They began to go wherever there were clashes and conflicts, to listen and seek solutions for peace.

After the pilgrimage to Nyakari, on December 9th I left for Bangui precisely for this reason. I had explained the problem of Zemio, where, since May, clashes between rebels and the Russian army and mercenaries have caused deaths, violence, rapes, disappearances, and tens of thousands of refugees.

The Platform agreed to come to Zemio before Christmas, despite its commitments.

MINUSCA (the Blue Helmets) managed to organize the trip, and on Tuesday morning I welcomed the Cardinal, the Pastor, and the Imam, and together with a priest from Bangassou, Alain Zembi, we set off for Zemio.

When we arrived in Zemio, a small crowd awaited us: Muslims, Protestants, and Catholics. It was a unique event for the city, and there was much hope for this mission!

We greeted the people, and the pastor quoted Isaiah himself: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news," and we set off towards the parish. The city beared all the scars of war and destruction.

The entire region is marked by abandonment. For over twenty years, it has been the scene of violence and fighting: first with the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army, from Uganda; then the Seleka, and now the Azande ani kpi gbe). The state does little to help them, and with great distrust towards the local ethnic group: the roads are disastrous, and the teachers and nurses sent here no longer want to return.

As soon as we arrived, we immediately got to work, with an impressive series of meetings and gatherings, to allow everyone to speak out and report what they've been through. The testimonies are shocking! I met the mother of a seminarian, and she told me that her father has disappeared: he was arrested by the Gendarmerie in May, and they don't know where he is or if he was killed.

The state high school had 992 students last year, and now there are 180! But when I visited last month, there were 72!

There is great fear, and the population is practically a prisoner of either the Central African and Congolese authorities, or the military, or the Russian mercenaries, or of the rebels.

We met with women, young people, authorities, the Russian military, MINUSCA, and the various religious denominations: the message is always the same: only with peace is life possible, and a future can open up.

These are very intense moments and require great commitment.

We know that one visit is not enough and that we cannot solve all the problems. But with listening, dialogue, and much prayer (from so many people, in Central Africa and elsewhere), peace is possible.

Today, Thursday, we will visit and listen to the Muslim community again, and then we will head to the airport. Here we have the first piece of good news: new soldiers have arrived, replacing the current contingent, now tired and demoralized.

Let's bring hope!

Bandoufou

Monday, December 8, 2025

Pilgrims

Pilgrims

December 8, 2025

I'm discovering something new, once again. In Bangassou, in addition to coffee, cocoa has also been produced for a few years! As with coffee, we're seeing the possibility of reviving this crop, giving many families a chance at survival outside of what they normally do!

Taking advantage of a somewhat calm day, I travelled to Gambo, a parish on the road to the capital, Bangui. The road was very bad, but due to the decrease in rainfall this allowed for my passage, albeit with some difficulty.

In Gambo, I brought the carpenters and parts for assembling the school desks, which various friends from Rome, Acqui, and other areas have helped build.

This season marked the beginning of Advent, the time of preparation for Christmas. On Friday, November 28th, we gathered for an afternoon of meditation and prayer with the priests and nuns of the city.

The beginning of December is also marked by the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of Mary. We had a beautiful diocesan pilgrimage, which we had been preparing for during the past several weeks, in the parish of Niakari.

We arrived here after about three hours, sweaty and exhausted, but happy!

Slowly, all the pilgrims are also arriving, and by the end, we will be almost a thousand!

During these days, there are catechesis, moments of prayer, and meetings by age group, to reflect on the role of Mary, which we understand through her presence at the wedding at Cana. Cana is the theme of the pastoral year: here, Jesus performs his first miracle, precisely at a wedding feast. In the pastoral letter we wrote for this Advent, we wanted to discover how everything, touched by God, is transformed into good wine.

In theory, we are in the dry season... but the night between December 7th and 8th brought a nice storm, which was wonderfully refreshing!

Today, December 8th, we celebrated a beautiful Mass at 7:30.

Then, the blessing of the pilgrims' staffs, with which I set off again around 11am. It was terribly hot, but before 2pm I arrived home, in Bangassou.