Pourcine-Pic Makaya (Agenzia Fides) – "I spent three days visiting the Chapel of St. Bernard on the occasion of the patron saint's day. A difficult and tiring journey, which, on the one hand, demonstrates how difficult it is to make progress in a country under such conditions, but, on the other, also demonstrates once again the strength and courage of the people who move with heavy burdens through an extremely impassable area without roads. Four hours from Pourcine-Pic Makaya to Nan Myiel, first upstream and then along a path that leads to the village," Father Massimo Miraglio, Camillian missionary and parish priest in the village of Pourcine-Pic Makaya, told Fides.
"The chapel where we celebrated Mass on Saturday morning, August 30th, is very modest, but the faith is full of hope, and the welcome was very warm. The community made a great effort," the missionary continues, "to celebrate their patron saint in a very makeshift setting, but one marked by warmth and piety." "Following the celebration, the obligatory soccer match took place, with one peculiarity: In the middle of the field lay two huge boulders that seemed to have fallen from the sky... and that could not be moved, despite the great danger they pose to the players," Father Miraglio explains.
"On the afternoon of August 31, I set out again, accompanied by a delegation of believers. Although we had changed our route, the difficulties did not diminish," the missionary recalled. "We climbed a steep mountain, along a narrow path and over huge boulders left there by the 2021 earthquake. With great difficulty, I reached the summit, a third of the way there. Amidst the low vegetation stood a single house, a family: mother, father, grandparents, a young man with a serious foot injury, and three children, one of whom was severely mentally disabled. Meeting this family freed me from all the hardships of the journey." "I saw with my own eyes something I will never forget: the will to persevere, to continue living even in the most difficult situations. The mother had just returned from the Mass I had celebrated, carrying a bucket of water that she had brought up from the valley on her head, and she thanked me. What a joy to celebrate with these courageous people!" Father Massimo concluded. (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 3/9/2025)
