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OUR PRIORITIES

Faith-Building

We felt again the promptings of the Lord. Right from June 2000 we started celebrating Holy Mass and administering the Sacraments in Ronga (the local dialect). The illiterate majority was simply happy.

Faith Formation Seminars

We could arrange to get the help of Ronga-knowing Diocesan Priests from Maputo for the three-day seminars in all the nine comunidades. The Catholic Church appeared a taboo for many as it is still associated with colonialism in their thought patterns. The youth and children felt "eh, it is not for us". Still when Fr. Ernesto, the present Bishop of Pemba, animated the youth seminars, a good many of them participated in it.

Making the Catholic Church known in the District of Matutuine

This was the mandate of the then Archbishop of Maputo. With this priority in mind we began fanning out to all the localities of this vast district. Even our land-rover could not reach a number of places. So we took to the motorbike. Where the motorbike could not reach, we made it on foot. By the time we finished visiting the entire District we could feel the stirrings from two or three localities to begin Comunidades newly. Slowly three new centers took shape. Thus we are in all the five posto administrativo (similar to talukas) of the District. That is not enough. We should have comunidades in all the localities as well.

Construction of Chapels, Convents, Lay-Centres...

With the help of Kindermissionswerk we could reconstruct the Parish Church and with assistance from Mr. Jose Parayankal we built its compound wall. With the help of our Superior General we purchased land in three sectors within the Bela Vista township for a Catechetical Center, NFE center. Convent and Boys-Town. The purchase of land for the various sub-centers took time.

We could only make reeds-and-weeds-and-corrugated-sheets-made Chapels in the sub-centers. However, at Ponta do Ouro and Tinonganini with the part-financing by Koch Foundation we are building cement-block-made Chapels.

Propaganda Fide and Missio helped us build our first House (blessed on 14.09.2003) for us to stay and the first Convent (blessed on 24.4.2005) for the Sisters of Our Lady of Africa. We have already three local candidates. Many came to our help to open a Formation House (“Casa Fransalianos”) in Matola (the capital of Maputo Province/State), just 10 kms away from the national capital, Maputo.

With the help of the Friends of St. Francis de Sales and through the assistance of Fr. Thomas Fernandes msfs we could get the Mermier Farm (at Bela Vista) and start various works there for the extremely poor. MIVA and Kirche-in-Not, through Salesan, helped us to have a pick-up car. Mozambique Holdings gave us two motor cycles.

The people of Germany through Fr. Cyriac Nellikunnel msfs and the Diocese of Rockville Center helped us to construct 7 houses for the very poor widows. Our new Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop George Panikulam, and our new Archbishop of Maputo, Dom Chimoio, were gracious enough to come and bless them.

The Friends of St. Francis de Sales of Maputo and Catembe and of Germany through Fr. Francis Venmenikattayil and Fr. Benedict D'Souza, and the Living Waters International through Dr. Zimmerman, helped us assist 100 students from interior areas to attend school at various levels.