AFRICA/MALAWI - The Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM) begins its mission in Malawi

Saturday, 19 December 2020 missionaries   local churches  

Lilongwe (Agenzia Fides) - "The CICM mission in Malawi has just begun in a way that was not expected: the preparatory activities have been canceled and the start has been delayed. The 4 team members of the new mission in Malawi were supposed to carry out a 6-week preparatory session and team building sessions between August and September 2020 in Rome. All of this has not been able to happen because of the pandemic. But, in any case, this upheaval pushes us to be realistic. It is important to make plans, but sometimes we have to be, like Mary, open to God's plan", says Reverend Father Charles Phukuta, Superior General of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM).
This is a project that has been developing for years, at the invitation of His Exc. Mgr. Martin Mtumbuka, Bishop of Karonga, in Malawi. After a long period of preparation that began with the visit of a delegation from the general government of this congregation in 2018 and a program shaken by unforeseen circumstances such as the covid-19 pandemic. On 13 October 2020, Fr. Peter Koh arrived in Malawi and, a few weeks later, this missionary originally from Singapore was joined by his fellow missionaries Aubrey Sumbukeni (Zambian), Kraeng Kirang (Indonesian) and Nazario Caparanga (Filipino).
Upon their arrival in Malawi, the 4 missionaries were quarantined. "Perhaps quarantine is the best way to start a mission; in solitude and prayer! Jesus also began his public ministry with 40 days of prayer and fasting in solitude in the desert. Furthermore, he had often reminded his disciples that the kingdom of God begins in silence and stillness, like leaven in dough, or like a grain that sprouts from the ground", says Father Peter Koh.
The 4 CICM priests who arrived in Malawi are learning the local language before taking over the 2 parishes entrusted to them. These are the parish of the Immaculate Heart of Mary in Chisankhwa, in the Misuku mountains, and Saint Apollonia parish in Nyungwe, on the shores of Lake Malawi.
The diocese of Karonga was established in 2010. It started with 5 parishes, this diocese in northern Malawi now has 12 parishes with more than 50,000 Catholics, served by only 31 priests.
The Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM) is a missionary congregation of pontifical right. Founded in Belgium in 1862 as a Belgian congregation for mission in China, it has gone international and is present in more than 20 countries around the world, including mainland China. The members of this congregation are called the CICM Fathers, and sometimes Scheutists (or missionary fathers of Scheut), due to the place where the congregation was founded. (P.M.P.) (Agenzia Fides, 19/12/2020)


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