AFRICA/SOUTH SUDAN - Forgiveness and unity with those we meet: the diocese of Rumbek in prayer for the recovery of bishop Carlassare

Monday, 12 July 2021

Rumbek (Agenzia Fides) - Laity, men and women religious and the entire clergy of the diocese of Rumbek were invited on July 3, to gather in prayer for the total healing and physical recovery of the Bishop-elect Mgr. Christian Carlassare, Comboni missionary of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ), wounded with a firearm on the night of April 25, 2021 (see Fides 26/4/2021).
"We invite all our communities, the various parishes of Rumbek, schools and prayer groups, to remain united and continue to pray for the recovery of our Bishop-elect and for his return to Rumbek", said the Vicar General of the Catholic diocese, Fr. Andrea Osman Okello. "May we all continue to grow in faith and hope so that the joy of the Gospel is shared in our world. As a pilgrim people of God, let us walk together, supporting each other along the way and sharing a message of forgiveness and unity with those we meet", reads a part of the prayer formulated, which asks for the intercession of Saint Josephine Bakhita and Saint Daniel Comboni. Following the attack, perpetrated in his room at the Cathedral of the Holy Family in Rumbek, the Comboni missionary received initial treatment at the medical facility of Doctors with Africa CUAMM in Rumbek and was subsequently to the capital of Kenya by plane, where he was admitted to the Nairobi hospital. Mgr. Carlassare was discharged from hospital on May 17 for home care. The Italian religious has served in the diocese of Malakal, in South Sudan, since his arrival in the Central-Eastern African nation in 2005 until his appointment as bishop of Rumbek. On May 5, 2021, Pope Francis appointed Bishop Matthew Remijio, of the diocese of Wau, South Sudan, as apostolic administrator of the diocese of Rumbek, with the mandate to temporarily govern the diocese until the resumption of Mgr. Carlassare. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 12/7/2021)


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