Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
by Fabio Beretta
Vanimo (Agenzia Fides) - Hugs, prayers, photos. And typical Argentine specialties to celebrate being together. And all this in just half an hour. That's how long the private meeting between Pope Francis and a group of Argentine missionaries from the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE), who have been working in northern Papua New Guinea for years, lasted.
"The Pope," Father Alejandro Diaz, 51, told Fides (see Fides, 6/9/2024), "wanted to come here to Vanimo, a small town (150,000 inhabitants, editor's note) that is very poor. He first met the local community of Vanimo. Then he went to the nearby village of Baro to pay a private visit to our school, the Holy Trinity Humanist School.”
There is a bond of friendship between the Bishop of Rome and this community of missionaries that began years ago: “He has always supported us. Thanks to the help he sent us, we were able to build a boarding school for boys and obtain off-road vehicles to move through the jungle.” Thanks to the Pope’s help, “we were also able to buy a bus that serves as a school bus for the villages.”
“About two thousand people, who also came from neighboring villages, were waiting here to see and greet him,” reports Father Diaz. “We gave him a warm welcome. For the occasion, we prepared a small concert. We organized a small orchestra made up of students from our school who spent weeks rehearsing the pieces.”
In an adjoining room, the Pope met the six missionaries who live here and preach the Gospel for a brief conversation: "We offered the Pope a mate, a typical Argentine drink, and also fried cakes, also a typical Argentine dish." In the few minutes available for the conversation, "the Pope encouraged us to continue the mission on the path we have taken here," says the missionary. "Then he left us several gifts, especially Bibles and rosaries, to give to the faithful and catechists. He also gave us a wonderful wooden statue of Saint Joseph."
On several occasions, Pope Francis - who wanted to celebrate the beginning of his Petrine Ministry precisely on March 19, 2013, the Solemnity of Saint Joseph - described the husband of Mary and stepfather of Jesus as the one who knows how to "walk in the dark," an expert "in listening to the voice of God" and in "moving forward in silence."
Pope Francis also met the Sisters of the Incarnate Word who live and work in Baro: "The Pope stopped briefly with the sisters to greet them personally and take some photos. Although his entourage pressed him and told him that it was late and the plane had to leave, he continued to joke with us all." Before returning to Port Moresby, Pope Francis blessed, as planned, 25 images of the Patron Saint of Argentina, Our Lady of Luján (an icon that had been honored by the Pope with the Golden Rose shortly before, at the end of the meeting with the faithful of Vanimo on the esplanade in front of the Holy Cross Cathedral, ed.). "There are 25 because the Pope's arrival here coincides with the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the statue of Our Lady of Luján in Papua New Guinea," explained Father Diaz. "In the next few days we will donate them to the chapels of the villages scattered in the jungle."
This afternoon "was like a caress for us missionaries. We feel encouraged to continue on this path. The Pope asked us to do so." (Agenzia Fides, 8/9/2024)
