Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - "The Church in Burundi is about to experience a strong moment of grace and spiritual deepening thanks to the Synods which will be organized in every diocese in the Country", says to Fides Agency His Exc. Mgr. Gervais Banshimiyubusa, Bishop of Ngozi and President of the Episcopal Conference of Burundi, in Rome for an ad limina visit.
"Through the Synods we want to ensure that every believer from Burundi deepens his/her Christian vocation and for every single community to think about its own way of coming together to contribute to peace and national reconciliation", said Mgr. Banshimiyubusa.
"Another gift from the Lord is the translation of the Bible in Kirundi, the national language, in order to allow everyone access to the Holy Scriptures", added the President of the Episcopal Conference of Burundi. .
"The vitality of the Church in Burundi is witnessed by the erection of the new diocese in Rutana as well as by the recent establishment of our fourth Major Seminary (see Fides 25/10/2011), which testifies the existence of more and new vocations. We place great emphasis on the formation of our priests but also lay people who play an increasingly important role in the Church, as witnesses of faith in society. We are grateful to the Lord for the fact that we see so many people engaged in pastoral and social activities of the Church, and among these there are also intellectuals and public officials", concluded Bishop Banshimiyubusa.
In his speech to the Bishops of Burundi, Pope Francis recalled Mgr. Michael A. Courtney, Apostolic Nuncio in Bujumbura, who was killed in an ambush on December 29, 2003, "who was faithful to the gift of life, to the mission that he had been entrusted to the service of Burundi".
The Pope also mentioned the framework agreement between the Holy See and the Republic of Burundi, signed in November 2012 (see Fides 7/11/2012) and was happy to note that the human and Christian formation of youth is one of the Bishops’ priorities. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 08/05/2014)
