Passage through France

 

Notre Dame - Paris

 

Passage through France

 

After the meeting with the bishops of Central Africa on Monday, 12 January, I will leave for France the following day to visit the priests of the Diocese of Bangassou who are there to study or work in various dioceses (Fidei Donum).

I will arrive in Paris on Wednesday morning and immediately have an appointment with the auxiliary bishop who looks after the various foreign priests attending the universities of Paris. In the afternoon, I have another appointment with the bishop who looks after the priests working in the diocese as Fidei Donum.

It is a beautiful experience of Church: Churches that help and support each other. For our priests, it is an important grace, which allows them to receive a good formation, but also to engage with a different culture and very demanding pastoral needs.

In the evening, I meet the first of the priests, who is studying law. His study schedule is demanding, and we carve out some time in the evening.

On Thursday, I go to a parish where another priest, Abbé Guy Florentin, lives. I celebrate Mass in the parish. Then I move on to Versailles, where Abbé Heritier lives, and meet with the bishop and the vicar general.

On Friday, I travel to Soumoulou, a village in the south of France, where Abbé Bienfait works. We have a nice time talking, and in the afternoon we go to Lourdes, about twenty kilometres away. Here we stop for the rosary, in front of the grotto where the Virgin Mary appeared to Bernadette. And we pray for the diocese of Bangassou, and for all the people who are dear to us in one way or another.

I leave in the evening for Paris, and on Saturday I leave for Rennes, in Brittany, two hours away by train.

There are three of our priests in this diocese: Junior, Ludovic and Fabrice. I meet up with Abbé Ludovic in Retiers, where I celebrate Mass with the lovely parish community on Sunday morning. We have lunch with a family from the village, and then I continue on to Rennes, where I meet the bishop (who came to Bangassou in August).

I spend the night in Gevezè, where Abbé Junior works, and the next day I continue on to Fougères, further north, where I meet Abbé Fabrice, who arrived a few months ago. 

On Tuesday, I am in Paris to take the train to Strasbourg. Here I am to meet a priest, and the next day the vicar general of the diocese. It is a magnificent city with a beautiful cathedral.

I return to Paris on Wednesday evening, and on Thursday morning I go to Saint Louis d'Antin, where Abbé Jean Noel works.

It is a very special parish, because seven Masses are celebrated every day, and every day there are two priests hearing confessions from 7.30am to 9pm! It is an area of offices and thoroughfares, and they offer a very special and generous ministry.

In the afternoon, I stop by the bookshop to buy some books for seminarians and priests, and then I head to the airport.

Yesterday morning, 23 January, I left Paris for Ndjamena (Chad), where the ACERAC (Conference of Bishops of Central Africa) meeting will be held in the coming days. We will meet with all the bishops of Chad, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Central Africa, Congo and Gabon.

 

 

 

Lourdes

 

 

 

Notre Dame du Travail - Paris

 

Strasbourg