Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – June 9-10, Rome will host a Convention on “Guglielmo Massaja. Cappuchin Missionary and Apostolic Vicar in Ethiopia.” Promoted by the National Committee for the Bicentenary Celebration of the Birth of Cardinal Guglielmo Massaja (1809-2009), the event featuring study, reflection, and prayer will be preceded on June 7 with a Mass at the Cappuchin Church in Frascati, where the remains of the first Apostolic Vicar of Ethiopia's uplands are laid to rest, presided by the local Bishop Giuseppe Matarrese, and accompanied by a guided tour of the Ethiopian Museum.
On June 9, the Collegio Internazionale S. Lorenzo da Brindisi in Rome will welcome the participants in the Convention. Among them will be: Father Mauro Jöhri, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, (Cappuchins); Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Dean of the College of Cardinals; Prof. Franco Salvatori, President of the National Committee; Bishop Francesco Guido Ravinale of Asti, and Bishop Musie Ghebreghiorghis of Emdibir (Ethiopia).
On June 10, there will be a film showing of a documentary by Paolo Damosso on the trips of Cardinal Massaja in Ethiopia and the evangelization of the Oroma Galla tribe, for 35 years. During the two days, there is also a talk scheduled from Cappuchin Father Antonino Rosso, a Massaja scholar and expert in the “Memorie,” and from Professors Benedict Vadakkekara, Tedros Abraha, Mauro Forno, and Vincenzo Criscuolo, who will analyze the social-political context of tribal Ethiopia in the 19th century and the social activities in the area at the time of the Gallan mission. The Postulator General, Fr. Florio Tessari, OFMCap, will present an update on the Beatification process, which is now in its final faces.
The Convention's motto is a quote from the “Memorie” written between 1880 and 1886 by the Cappuchin missionary, upon the request of Pope Leo XIII who created him Cardinal in 1884 and made him one of his strictest confidants. Massaja wrote: “The most important part of caring for the physically ill, is that of being a great practical and living example of evangelical charity towards our neighbor. One thing is preaching charity using only words, another is preaching it by example, that is, practicing it. The first objective of evangelical charity is to meet the needs of our brother...” Agenzia Fides will publish a Dossier on June 6, on the life, travels, ethnographic studies, social apostolate, and inculturation process begun by Massaja, presenting the story of the Catholic missions in Ethiopia from the 17th century to today. (AM) (Agenzia Fides 4/6/2009)
