AFRICA/MALAWI - Italian missionary Fr. Eugenio Cucchi 34 years of mission in Malawi moves to new mission in Democratic Congo

Tuesday, 5 December 2006

Lilongwe (Agenzia Fides) - On 1 December the community of Monfort missionaries in Lilongwe said goodbye to Superior Fr. Eugenio Cucchi 34 years of service in Malawi who was leaving for a new mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
“In keeping with the tradition of our Institute”- Fr. Piergiorgio Gamba told Fides - the evening before the departure after the recitation of the Rosary in front of a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Fr Eugenio gave his final blessing to the small Christian community of Mary Mother of the Church.
“It was also the world day for calling to mind the terrible impact of AIDS and the Sorrowful Mysteries helped the via crucis of so many sick and orphans…and immediately afterwards the greeting and wishes, collected in the gift of a new pair of sandals to walk new ways, the great cross of the mission and little statue of Saint Louis de Montfort” Fr Gamba told Fides.
For the final blessing many people brought bottles of water to be blessed and kept at home in sign of a presence which deeply marked Fr. Eugenio’s ministry.
Fr. Eugenio is called to work in Democratic Congo, a country struggling to emerge from chaos and war and whose balance is still unstable as a result of recent elections which assigned the presidency to Joseph Kabila, son of assassinated Laurent Kabila whose death remains a mystery.
Fr. Eugenio will work in Kisangani, eastern Congo, where for years the armies of Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Zimbabwe and also the troops of Congo- Zaire and rebels concentrated violence and war, destroying everything in the frantic race for the diamonds for which the zone is famous.
Fr. Eugenio has been called to sustain the small community of Congolese Monfot missionaries in some difficulty. For his new mission he will learn two new languages French and the local Lingala tongue.
“He departed on 2 December and will spend a few days in Nairobi before going to Kinshasa, capital of Congo to obtain the necessary visa and permits to reside in Congo. After a long flight from the capital he will reach Kisangani, if all goes well, on 23 December 2006” Fr. Gamba concluded. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 5/12/2006 righe 34 parole 403)


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