The Pope: “I join everyone in the blessing of this new cathedral”

Argentina



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Vatican News

Pope Francis addresses these dear brothers and sisters by looking at some photographs of the future cathedral that this May 1, feast of Saint Joseph the Worker, will be blessed. And he said to them:

“I congratulate you for this work you are doing and I congratulate you for all the educational, social, religious work, for what you are doing for the water channels so that there is more rice among you”

And after affirming that he was asking Saint Joseph to protect them a lot, the Holy Father joined them all in the blessing of this new cathedral by saying: “God bless you and do not forget to pray for me.”

Ceremony

This celebration is chaired by the Bishop of Morondava, Mgr Marie Fabien Raharilamboniaina, in which also participates the bishop emeritus of the diocese, Mgr Donald Joseph Pelletier.

Thanks to the Pope

Monsignor Marie Fabien Raharilamboniaina, bishop of this diocese said in an interview:

“We thank the Pope for having turned his gaze to us even though we are far away. With his heart, he sees what lies thousands of kilometers away and is invisible to the eye. With this cathedral, built by 200 poor stonemasons, men and women, the people feel closer to God “

The co-cathedral is located in Miandrivazo, a town in central Madagascar of about 20,000 inhabitants, located in the diocese of Morondava. It is about 300 kilometers from Morondava. This is why – says Mgr Marie Fabien Raharilamboniaina – the inhabitants of Miandrivazo “feel far from the Church”, immersed in a vast area occupied by forests and desert areas.

It should be noted that five years ago, the bishop convoked the diocesan synod, during which “the people of God in this region asked for greater proximity to the diocese”. The population counts 80% of faithful to ancestral religions and 15% of Catholics. “However – said the bishop – animists are very open to the Gospel.”

Importance of missionaries

The bishop has asked many congregations to come to this isolated and remote region. Currently working there are the Salettini Fathers, the Jesuits, the Montfort Fathers, the Trinitarian Fathers, the Sisters of Juana Delanoue, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, the Salesian Sisters, the Teresian Missionary Carmelite Sisters, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart. , the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary, the Carmelite Fathers, the Cistercian Monks, the Orionite Fathers, the Brothers of the Sacred Heart, as well as the diocesan priests. In addition, Bishop Raharilamboniaina adds:

“They generously responded to the Pope’s call to go to the outskirts. This presence allows us to be close to this city and to do evangelization. There are over 50 new grassroots Christian communities in the different cities. There are over 6,000 children in our schools and we have three clinics. Two weeks ago, I presided over a mass during which I baptized 200 people. In these villages, there are many people who said that they have been waiting for us for a long time “

“This presence – continues the bishop – has prompted us to create a structure to accompany the vitality of this Church. For this reason, we have built the new co-cathedral, the diocesan house, the minor seminary, the catechetical center, a youth center and a Catholic radio. “.

“Thank goodness people made themselves available to build an irrigation canal more than 50 kilometers long, all done by hand. This canal irrigates more than 2,000 hectares of rice fields. We have faced and faced these challenges without financial means: but with divine Providence, the means arrive every day. All this, religious missions, schools and clinics are the fruit of Providence “

The Pope’s visit to Madagascar has left its mark

“The realization of the co-cathedral and the diocesan house was made possible thanks to the Pope’s visit to Madagascar, which aroused the generosity of a woman and her family. This woman came to speak with the Pope to tell him that Madagascar needs help. After this visit allowed us to build a clinic, then the cathedral and the diocesan house, this commitment then involved the whole family of this woman, her brother left her an inheritance, his name was José.

Circumstances which show the will of God

And this year, the Pope dedicated the year to Saint Joseph. The district where this co-cathedral was built has San José for patron. The inauguration of the cathedral, dedicated to Saint Joseph, takes place on May 1, the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker. Our bishop emeritus is called Joseph: in June, he will be 90 years old. All of these sets of circumstances show us the will of God. »Mgr Marie Fabien Raharilamboniaina concludes:

“Unfortunately, we are still in a health emergency. For this reason, the celebration takes place with a very limited number of people. It reminds us of the life of Saint Joseph and that of Mary: the Baby Jesus was born in a place on the outskirts and very few people came to see him. Despite the absence of so many people, divine grace is present. Later we will organize a pilgrimage of Saint Joseph, inviting the faithful of the diocese to walk on foot for a few days, evangelizing the towns through which they pass. This type of pilgrimage particularly attracts young people “

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