(ANS – Sakania) – Sunday August 10 saw the conclusion of the centenary of Sakania-Kipushi diocese, founded by the first Salesian Bishop in the DRC, and still led by a Salesian, Bishop Gaston Ruvezi.

The centenary year was seen as a special grace and blessing throughout the diocese. It opened on August 18, 2013, with Fr Guillermo Basañes present, the then Councillor for Africa Madagascar. The year was marked by special celebrations in each parish, so that everyone had the chance to celebrate the event directly.

The Apostolic Nuncio for the DRC, Archbishop Adolfo Tito Yllana, took part in the closing ceremonies. He presided over the occasion, accompanied by Bishops Oscar Ngoy wa Mpanga, Kongolo, Bishop Fulgence Muteba, titular bishop of Kilwa-Kasenga, Archbishop Jean Pierre Tafunga, SDB, Lubumbashi, Bishop Tarcisse Tshibangu, bishop emeritus of Mbuji Mayi, but a native of Sakania-Kipushi, and the secretary of the Congo Epsicopal Cobference, Fr Santedi.

During the solemn Mass which lasted 5 hours, the Nuncio encouraged the faithful to enter into the next hundred years of the diocese with a missionary heart. The first Salesian missionary pioneers to the Congo were also remembered at the mass; this is why at the end of the Mass Bishop Ruvezi left the word to Fr Jean Claude Ngoy, Superior of the Central African Province (AFC). He presented the Salesian commitment and new challenges of the diocese now a hundred years after it had begun.

Published 12/08/2014