Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Lilongwe (Agenzia Fides) - The Parish of St. Louis de Montfort in Balaka has chosen the feast of the Epiphany to begin the year in preparation for the Golden Jubilee, the 50th anniversary of the mission of Balaka. "This is a special event because the life expectancy in Malawi is under the age of forty years and the Jubilee of 50 years is nearly three generations," Fides learns from Fr. Piergiorgio Gamba, Monfort Missionary, working in Malawi for over 30 years now.
Founded in 1961, the parish of Balaka was separated from the mission of Utale 1, which last year celebrated its hundredth anniversary in what is today the Diocese of Mangochi. The small cluster of houses along the railroad that bear the name of Balaka was chosen as the center of the new mission because it was growing in number and importance. "It was a random choice: the mission came from the woods and down from the mountains to bring His presence to the city," said Father Gamba. "Today Balaka is the greatest mission of the Diocese and has more than 60,000 Catholics."
According to Father Gamba, the year of preparation for the Jubilee of the mission is "a year of grace that will bring out the strengths of the Church's presence in this corner of the world. The Church's dialogue with the town of Balaka has some special characteristics: the presence and work of the Canossian Sisters in education, along with the Marist Brothers, the inter-congregational philosophy seminary of the Comboni Missionaries, the Carmelites, the Spiritan Fathers, the White Fathers, and the Montfortians, the convent of the Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the printing house of Montfort Media, Luntha Television ... "
According to the missionary, Balaka "has become the center of the district but is mainly linked to agriculture, though the recent establishment of a strong community of Chinese who are planting a large cotton processing center and the planned clinker quarry - used for making cement - are growth factors of the city...accepted by all." (LM) (Agenzia Fides 7/1/2010)
