AFRICA/EGYPT - Human wealth, hospitality, faith rooted in the life of the people of the village of Kom Ghareeb, told by a missionary

Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - "This year I have had the joy and grace to celebrate Christmas twice. On December 25, I celebrated the birth of Jesus like all Catholics in the parish of Shubra, in Cairo. Then, on January 7, I celebrated Christmas with my Catholic brothers of the Coptic rite in the village of Kom Ghareeb (كوم غريب), where I have been for a week."

This is what Anselmo Fabiano, a missionary of the Society of African Missions (SMA), who has been in the SMA house in the Shoubra district since last September, tells Fides.

"Immediately after New Year, I left Cairo for the south, in Upper Egypt," Anselmo continues. "I was welcomed in a fraternal way in the Coptic parish by the parish priest Abuna Iusif. It was quite a leap: from the great and endless city of Cairo to this small village of farmers and cattle breeders. From the great cathedral of Shubra, with a dozen Christians, to this small church which, on Christmas Eve, was packed with Christians inside and outside."

"From the first moment I experienced an extraordinary welcome, starting with the parish priest, then the children and young people who welcome me every time they see me, look for me and accompany me to show me what their lives are like. Not to mention all the families who have opened the doors of their houses to greet me and welcome me warmly. Here, life and the environment are very different, we are surrounded by green fields of onions, wheat, cucumbers, tomatoes. In the morning, the roosters and donkeys act as a natural alarm clock. The sound of the hooves of horses and oxen accompanies my days. The reality is certainly much poorer: I meet barefoot children on the dusty road, in ragged and worn clothes, their work in the fields is hard and exhausting, the houses are very poor and simple. But I have also been able to touch an extraordinary human wealth, made up of a generous welcome, sometimes disarming, and a strong faith, rooted in the life of the people.

“I cherish in my heart the memory of my first Coptic Mass on Christmas Day,” concludes the missionary. “The smell of bread, wine and incense, so many gestures and rites so different from ours, but full of meaning. I cannot forget the little altar boys around the altar who moved skillfully through the various rites, singing, reciting and praying with joy and enthusiasm. Despite the complicated language, I immediately felt at home, welcomed as a brother in faith. I managed to learn the Lord's Prayer thanks to the help of a small group of children: the little ones are my teachers and my catechists, who open the door to their way of celebrating and living the faith." (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 13/1/2025)

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