538 - November 2013
October 2nd, 2013 - November 4th, 2013

AFRICA-MADAGASCAR

On Sunday, 29 September 2013, Monsignor Mario LEON DORADO took canonical possession of the Apostolic See of Sahara/Marocco during a solemn celebration presided by him in the cathedral of Laayoune, surrounded by representatives of the United Nations and some of the faithful who had come for the event. On 24 June 2013, Pope Francis had named him Apostolic Prefect of Western Sahara.

In his homily, he briefly explained the role and mission of the Apostolic Prefect: “To govern, teach, sanctify and to guard the patrimony of the Church.” Since he had already pronounced the profession of faith and oath of fidelity before the Apostolic Nuncio on September 11, 2013, in his private chapel in Rabat, it was a question, here in Laayoune, of completing the rite with the reading of the decree of appointment (the Latin text was read by Father Valerio EKO, superior of the mission) and the signing of the formal certification by some witnesses present at the ceremony: Mr. Ambassador Nicolas Amouzou (Africa), Mr. Jose Maria S. Medalla (Asia), Mr. Carlos Bengoechea (Europe) and Katia Gonzalez Carbonell (America), to point out that the five continents were well represented at the event.

Thus, Mons. Mario has become the third Apostolic Prefect of Sahara, after Mons. Félix ERVITI (1954-1995) and Mons. Acacio VALBUENA (1995-2009).

Born on 17 March 1974 in Madrid, Mons. Mario grew up in the Oblate parish in Aluche where he also found his missionary and religious vocation. He made his first vows on 15 September 1996.

Ordained on June 2, 2001, his desire to exercise his pastoral ministry in the Arab-Muslim world was fulfilled when, after three years of service in the parish of Jaen (Spain), he received his obedience to go to the Sahara Mission in 2004. He immediately began learning Arabic, English and French for a thorough integration into the reality of his new mission. Fascinated by Islam and Arab culture, Mario is a self-starter who continually and personally updates himself.

The Apostolic Prefecture of the Sahara is in Africa, in southern Morocco, covering the whole of the former Western Sahara, a vast area of 266,000 km², bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and by Mauritania to the south and east. Currently the Apostolic Prefecture of the Sahara consists of only two churches, one in Laayoune and another in Dakhla, the former Villa Cisneros, and a chapel in Laayoune Port (Laayoune Marsa).

The Apostolic Prefecture has only two religious priests for a vast territory larger than Great Britain. There is an Apostolic Prefect and a superior of the mission, a special situation for this mission, unique in its statutes and its character. One has to live it to understand it better. There are no indigenous Christians in this country which is 100% Muslim; the few faithful who attend our churches are all foreigners and people passing through. The UN staff operating in this part of the country (MINURSO) seems to be the most stable. (Valerio EKO)

The former Provincial of the Oblate Province of Lesotho, Fr. Joseph Mopeli SEPHAMOLA, was ordained Bishop of Qacha’s Nek on 21 September 2013. He had received his episcopal appointment from Pope Francis on June 19.

The ordination took place at Hermitage Cathedral, Qaacha’s Nek. The ordaining bishop was the Archbishop of Maseru, Gerard Tlali LEROTHOLI, the Metropolitan of Lesotho. Assisting his was Archbishop Mario Cassari, the Apostolic Nuncio to Lesotho and eleven other bishops.

There were about 10,000 persons at the celebration. They included a good number of distinguished guests: His Majesty King Letsie III (David Mohato Bereng Seiso, the King of Lesotho); the Deputy Prime Minister, the Honorable Mothejoa Metsing, who is also the minister of local government and chieftainship; the Minister of Health and her deputy; the Minister of Social Welfare; the Minister of Youth, Sport and Recreation; and the Minister of the Military and Police. Because of these important guests, there was unprecedented security at the celebration.

On October 3, Fr. Marius BESSEMANS was the recipient of the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice Cross. Five bishops were on hand for the presentation, from the dioceses of Bethlehem, Kroonstad, Bloemfontein, Kimberley and Keimoes Upington.

Fr Bessemans, age 89, has served the Church in the Kimberley Diocese since 1952. For many of those years, he served as Judicial Vicar of the Marriage Tribunal of the Bloemfontein Metropolitan Province.

Bishop Abel Gabuza, Bishop of Kimberley, paid tribute to Fr Bessemans in his homily for his years of commitment and service in the diocese.

In a local newspaper interview, Fr. Bessemans recounted how the difficult years of the war prepared him for mission and ministry in the Church. He joined the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate and this is how he came to be sent to South Africa. In later years, while still keeping a full quota of pastoral ministry he started focusing on the sacrament of marriage by preparing couples for marriage and through his work in the Marriage Tribunal. Fr. Bessemans lamented the increasing divorce rate which he ascribes to insufficient preparation before marriage and forced marriages as a result of pregnancies and social pressure. (http://omi-bfn.blogspot.com)

On Sunday, 4 August 2013, in the parish church of Saint Eloi, the provincial of Congo, Fr. Abel NSOLO, presided at the Eucharist during which Josephine Kikata, the first African COMI, made her perpetual profession.

The Cooperator Oblate Missionaries of the Immaculate have been in the Democratic Republic of Congo for several years. They dedicate themselves to the service of the poor, essentially in the area of health care in the town of Bumbu, one of the disadvantaged and poor neighborhoods of Kinshasa. They are also involved in parish ministry at Saint Eloi, with catechesis, the missionary childhood and they also frequently organize vacation camps for the children.

Besides Josephine, two other Congolese women have joined the Institute, José Manwana and Liliane Munoko. There is a group of aspirants who are taking a look, accompanied by Antonietta Mongio and Giovanna Clemente. These young women are seeking to understand the will of God for them in the charism of this holy Institute. (Chronique OMI-Congo, August, 2013)