Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bozoum (Agenzia Fides) – The Year of St. Paul, World Youth Day, a chapel to dedicate...all of these are reasons for launching a 30 km pilgrimage with youth from the parish in Bozoum, Central Africa.
“We knew from the beginning that many youth would participate. Just before taking off, there were over 300 registered,” Fr. Aurelio Gazzera, Carmelite Missionary and Parish Pastor of Bozoum, told Fides. During the event, the scouts served as leaders of the long 30 km hike which included a break for lunch, rest, and prayer in the villages along the way.
The hike, which began with a blessing in the Parish of San Michele in Bozoum around 7am, first stopped after 4 km for a moment of catechesis and reflection on Saint Paul, led by Fr. Aurelio. The youth then continued their hike with reflection and prayer, songs, and the Rosary.
“The welcome of the village surprised us. They came out to meet the youth pilgrims with dancing and waving branches in their hands and accompanied them the last 10 minutes of the way. In spite of the 6 hours of walking in the sun, the youth celebrated their arrival in the town with dancing to the beating of tom-toms into the evening,” Fr. Aurelio wrote.
Fr. Thierry Charles, who has been working with Christians in the villages near Bozoum for the last year, brought dinner: rice and beans for everyone before rolling out their mats to sleep for the night. The morning sun illumines the new Church, which was completed just 10 days earlier, with the help of Giovanni Viola. The Christians of the village had been gathering since 1942 under a thatched roof and now they proudly display their beautiful new church!
Everyone is decked out in their “Sunday best,” which is always greatly esteemed by the people who, during the week, seem to have nothing to wear.
There is a long line outside the church, where Fr. Thierry has been hearing confessions for an hour already. The time for the beginning of the Mass, scheduled for 8:30, will be pushed back 15 minutes because there is still a long line outside the “confessional” (a church bench). Red liturgical vestments for the ministers, white vestments for the catechists, the chorus in the front row...everything is ready!
The Holy Mass, the heart of the celebration, lasted an hour and a half. The preaching was brief, but the offertory lasted 10 minutes because everyone brought their own gift to the altar: bananas, manioc, and the fruit of their labor in the fields...
It is almost lunchtime and, while the women prepare the manioc and the beef, the youth of “Aita Kwe” once again begin to dance. After eating, the youth must return to their hometown, crossing 30 km of savanna to reach home before dark. “The youth of Bozoum have truly inaugurated God's House in Manga well!” Fr. Aurelio concluded. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 8/4/2009)
