Church News

There is a reality in daily life that is always refused by human beings. It is suffering. To love suffering appears as an insult to life. From the beginning, the garden was prepared for man, fulfilled by a green setting without the slightest idea of what the price of this setting was worth. Adam, before sin, is the symbol of this most fulfilled man who was made to taste resurrection without knowing death. He could not resist the tempting proposals of the fruit that leads to death. Surprised by his fall, the "drawn from the earth" must now live only in anticipation of the day of the recovery of humanity that will be caused by the one who falls from the sky to die in the ground in order to bring LIFE.

During his homily, the Archbishop of Bangui exhorted the priests and the faithful with the following theme: the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has consecrated me by the anointing. Reminding the priests of the meaning of their commitment which invites them to conform to Christ their Master, he exhorted the faithful to pray a lot for the priests and for the bishop.

After accompanying the faithful from their parishes on the pilgrimage, and hearing their confessions according to a calendar of different deaneries, the priests (secular and regular) working in the Archdiocese of Bangui withdrew in oversaturation around Cardinal Dieudonné NZAPALAINGA for a day of recollection this Wednesday, March 27, 2024.

Today is Holy Tuesday, the 26th day of the month of March in the year of the Lord 2024 in Boso-Manzi in the diocese of Lisala, His Excellency Monsignor José-Bernard LIKOLO celebrated the Chrism Mass with his presbyterium. During which, concelebrating with his collaborators who are the abbots of Lisala and Molegbe, he consecrated the Holy Chrism and blessed the other oils for the two dioceses: Lisala and Molegbe of which he is respectively Bishop and Apostolic Administrator.

The prophets did not reserve themselves to reveal in image the identity of the one who will come to save humanity. The first reading reminds us of the role that a prophet plays. He is the one who listens to God by transmitting the message to humans. It is the Word of God that gives us strength in trials. Jesus is the Word made flesh. We can ask the same question as the Ethiopian eunuch today in relation to the first reading: “Of whom does the prophet speak, of himself or of another” (Acts 8:34).

We are in the East of the Democratic Republic of Congo in the Diocese of Uvira where the venerable Servants of God lost their lives. They are two Xaverian Missionary priests (Luigi CARRARA and Giovanni DIDONE), a Xaverian Missionary religious (Vittorio Faccin) and a diocesan abbot of Uvira (Albert JOUBERT). Men in love with charity and filled with apostolic zeal in evangelization, did not run away in the face of the Mulelists. (belonging to Pierre Mulele), who are a rebel group against the power of Joseph Désiré MOBUTU. These pastors defended their sheep to the point of shedding blood on November 28, 1964 at the parish of the Immatriculated Heart of Mary in Baraka and at the Parish of Saint John the Baptist in Fizi in the Diocese of Uvira.

Since Wednesday, March 13, the priests (curates, vicars and formators) of the deanery have been invited to tour all the parishes in their deanery to offer the faithful the opportunity to confess in preparation for Easter. The parish of the Holy Martyrs of Uganda was the first to open its doors to priests for these confessions. The deanery of the Cathedral has seven parishes (the Holy Martyrs of Uganda, the Holy Trinity of Castor, Saint Paul of the Rapids, Saint Francis of Assisi of Yapele, Saint Sauveur, Saint Anne of Kassai and the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception).

On Monday, March 18, 2024, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo met with the priests and nuns of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa working in France. It all began with a Eucharistic celebration presided over by His Eminence, at the Church of Sainte Marguerite (36 rue Saint Bernard, 75011). He was welcomed by the parish priest who concelebrated with him. In his homily, the Cardinal insisted on the fact that it is always prudent to listen to people before condemning them.

For the Cathedral of Bangui, under the coordination of the parish priest, Caritas benefits from various contributions in kind and in cash. Lent is the great moment when the faithful deposit several goods in kind and offer after the Stations of the Cross every Friday the money intended for the poor. The generosity of the faithful is felt that the goods received do not only serve the poor of the parish. Thus, Caritas organizes itself to travel to the periphery for distribution.

The infinitude of God that reveals himself to man experiencing finitude sometimes provokes an erroneous interpretation on the part of the latter. For God living in perfection cannot be understood when we want to grasp his word in facts that are clothed in imperfections. That which is born of flesh is flesh. But that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit (Jn 3:6). This is the source of all man's infidelities when he believes he is fulfilled. Even our commitment to God can be a form of infidelity when we seek to please ourselves with the law of God, finding in it the justification for our desires for enjoyment. And yet God is faithful and does not change.

"The bishop fathers are concerned about the rise of local and foreign armed groups in the provinces. This dramatic situation creates a climate of insecurity characterized by a significant number of losses of human life, not to mention the massive displacement of the population, and the destruction of public and private property. Furthermore, they deplore the irresponsibility of the political and administrative authorities in the face of cases of killings due to the poor delimitation of the Lomami and Garamba parks."

It is a tradition in the particular Church of Bangui, as elsewhere, that a pilgrimage is organized for the effort of Lent. Several places on the outskirts of Bangui welcome thousands of faithful for this purpose. We cite the sanctuaries of Rosa mystica, of Saint Rita, of Mount Carmel, ... However, it must be recognized that the most visited sanctuary in Bangui is that of Ngoukomba.