AFRICA/NIGER - "The Lord gives us priests from persecuted communities"

Friday, 14 July 2023 priests local churches persecutions

NIGER

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Niamey (Agenzia Fides) - Father Laurent has only been a priest for a week. He is originally from Kankani, a village on the border with Burkina Faso where people are threatened by armed groups, who had to flee to Makalondi.
Despite widespread insecurity in the region, many Christians gathered on Saturday, July 8. They left their villages to reach the city, the capital Niamey, for the priestly ordination of one of their sons, Laurent Woba. He was ordained by the bishop of Niamey, Msgr Laurent Lompo, originally from the same area as the Gourmanché people, the border area between Niger and Burkina Faso.
Laurent was thus integrated into the presbytery of the Niamey diocese and the words addressed to him by the current coordinator of the fraternity of diocesan priests are noteworthy. Below is a long and significant passage of the welcome speech, given by Father François Azouma, a native of nearby Togo.
"Your ordination is a cause for joy and hope. You have just been ordained in a difficult context, given the security situation in your village. Your birth to priestly life, despite the climate of fear, is for us a sign of hope that does not disappoint. On the wall at the entrance to the Keur Moussa Abbey in Senegal, it is written: "And the desert will bloom". Given the context in which the communities of your area live, we can allow ourselves to be convinced that the desert will flourish, because it is in these communities where priests find it so difficult to carry out their ministry, it is in these parishes where it is impossible for the faithful to gather to pray, it is in these towns with almost no inhabitants and it is in these scattered and tormented communities that the Lord manifests his glory through the gift of the priesthood.
God is not serious, but he takes things seriously. Last year, after the ordination of Father Aimé Combari of the parish of Saint Marc in Torodi, the Mass of thanksgiving in Torodi was postponed indefinitely. Despite the proximity of Torodi to Niamey, it is almost impossible to organize the first Mass there, but the Lord gives us Kankani, on the border with Burkina Faso. We may be tempted to ask the Lord if this is serious. And this is not all, hopefully, God invites us to celebrate the priesthood next year in Bomoanga, the parish where Father Pierluigi Maccalli was kidnapped. God is not serious, but he takes things seriously. In fact, by raising up priests in tortured, persecuted, martyred and terrorized communities, where the faithful are afraid to meet and even pray at home, he gives them reason for hope. If the Lord gives us priests from these deserted communities who share their joy with us, it is also an opportunity for us to share their suffering and miseries through the works of mercy done for them. Father Laurent, you are more aware than anyone of the context in which you have been ordained. You may not know where you are going, but at least you know where you are from...! Be sensitive to the misery of your people, following the example of Jesus Christ, face of the Father's mercy. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, our role model. Whatever you say, whatever you do, may it be in the name of Jesus, not to please men, but to please God; he is the master, we are at his service". (M.A.) (Agenzia Fides, 14/7/2023)