Agenzia Fides

Bissau (Agenzia Fides) - The missionary journey in Guinea Bissau has just concluded, attended by 12 young Italians belonging to the Youth Movement to Build accompanied by three assistants, two Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI) and a consecrated Cooperator Oblate Missionary of the Immaculate (COMI). During the three weeks, from July 27 to August 18, according to a note sent to Fides Agency, the youth animated two summer meetings for children and young people in the parish of St. Francis of Assisi in Antula, a suburb of the capital Bissau, and in the mission of Farim, in the north of the Country. The first and last days of the stay were spent at the Spirituality Centre of N'Dame, a few miles from Bissau. At the beginning of the experience, the young people got to know the history of the Guinean Church through the words of the Bishop of Bissau, His Exc. Mgr. José Camnate na Bissign, and also the history of almost ten years of presence of the OMI missionaries in Guinea Bissau, in addition to the civil history of the Country, where last April 12 a coup d'état was carried out. The last few days were reserved for an assessment of the missionary experience and group sharing.
Young people from Piedmont, Tuscany, Lazio, Campania and Calabria prepared themselves for the journey for a year, through two residential meetings and a Facebook group. There were numerous charitable initiatives throughout Italy to raise money for the trip and for some missionary projects. The Youth Movement to Build comes from the missionary charism of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Founded in 1988, it currently has about 500 young people from various cities of Italy. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 27/08/2012)