“We Welcomed into Our Community the Relics of the Four Martyrs”. Sister Antonia Recounts Experience in Congo
Sister Gloriose interviews Sister Antonia, Vicar General of the Missionary Congregation of the Sisters of St. Gemma, upon her return from her missionary trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo
Welcome back Sr. Antonia. But when did you leave for the mission in Congo?
I left on July 26, 2024, after the Eucharistic Celebration in which we received the missionary mandate. I accompanied 10 volunteers to our community in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a work camp at our health center.
Is it necessary to receive the missionary mandate?
Of course it is necessary to receive the mandate from the side of the local Church, because the mission is not ours, but it is the Church’s, and as such it is the Church itself that “sends” on behalf of Jesus. In fact, the experience that one goes to do with other brothers is lived with the Church, in the Church and for the Church. Evangelization is done through work. In short, we try to witness to Jesus with our working presence; by giving we receive and still return enriched; but not only we, because we make a gift of this richness to the community.
This year we had the grace of participating in the Beatification of four Martyrs: three Xaverian missionaries and a Congolese diocesan priest.
THE BEATIFICATION
Speaking of the Beatification, how was the day of August 18 in Uvira?
It has been almost a month since that Sunday of celebration: I remember that it was a day of immense joy for the Congolese, Italian and Belgian Church, as well as for the whole large family of the Xaverian Missionaries.
At 5:30 a.m. Father Faustino Turco, Xaverian, the Postulator of the 4 Martyrs, arrived at our Community of Kavimvira, with some seminarians, to take the sedan chair (whose construction had been commissioned to us) and the Reliquary containing the Relics of the Martyrs.
The Reliquary had brought it to us in the previous days to prepare the attachment to the sedan chair.
Early in the morning, a lot of people were on their way to the place of Beatification and by 8:00 a.m. people were already there: everything was ready for the celebration.
The security forces had been present since Friday for the arrival of the Cardinal, the Apostolic Nuncio and the entire delegation accompanying him from Kinshasa. Security had to be guaranteed.
There were many Xaverian fathers and I was very impressed to see that some of them were very elderly and had arrived from Italy especially to participate in the Beatification of their confreres. Then there were numerous priests, women and men religious and a huge crowd of Congolese men and women. Civil authorities including the local governor were also present.
Everything was very well organized, thanks also to the attendants who, for every celebration that takes place in Congo, take care in each church to welcome and accompany the faithful to their seats in order to avoid too much confusion given the large attendance. They really did a very good orderly service that day.
The journalists and photographers who had arrived from different parts of the world also occupied their seats in an orderly manner; two of them even had drones and were filming everything from above.
A delegation of 33 people from Italy, specifically from Vicenza, had also arrived, including Bishop Bishop Giuliano Brugnotto, the parish priest and the mayor. There was also a delegation from Belgium and among them also the relatives of Blessed Albert Joubert.
The Celebration took place at 9 a.m. outside the Cathedral of Uvira. It was presided over by the Holy Father’s envoy, His Eminence Cardinal of Kinshasa Fridolin Ambongo. Also present was the new Apostolic Nuncio of Congo, His Excellency Monsignor Mitja Leskovsr along with 17 other bishops who arrived from various dioceses in Congo and neighboring countries.
The various representatives of the parishes of the Diocese enlivened the Celebration with songs and dances. A very impressive martyrs’ hymn had also been composed.
Where sin has abounded, grace has abounded….
After the Holy Father’s decree of Beatification was read and the picture with the picture of the Martyrs, proclaimed Martyrs of the Fraternity, was uncovered, four Xaverian seminarians started from the back of the Cathedral and slowly carried the sedan chair with the Reliquary containing the Relics of the new Blesseds to the Altar. At that point the Cardinal uncovered it. It was a touching and emotional gesture.
When the celebration was over, one of the relatives of Blessed Albert Joubert, took the floor and thanked everyone present also from the relatives of the other Blessed.
There was then a procession with the Relics to the Shrine Church of St. Mary Mother and Queen accompanied by several cars to the Shrine Church of Kavimvira.
Welcoming the Relics in front of the Shrine with singing and dancing were the children and youth of the Parish itself prepared by Sister Jacqueline. A prayer was recited inside the Church, which was also attended by people who, for various reasons, had not been able to be present at the Mass of Beatification.
The Relics were placed in a specially made chapel. The festive day ended with a time of fraternity and sharing lunch.
The next day, the Bishop of the Diocese of Uvira, celebrated the Holy Mass of Thanksgiving in the Church of Kavimvira that preserves the Relics of the Martyrs and thus opened the door to pilgrimages and since that day there has been a flurry of people going there to pray.
So now the Congolese Church has in addition to the Blessed Martyrs, Isdore, Bakanja and Sister Anuarite, it has four new Blesseds.
How did the local people prepare to celebrate the Beatification of these Martyrs?
The Christians of the Diocese of Uvira prepared themselves spiritually through retreats, discussions and conferences.
Of course, for them, besides rejoicing and preparing well for the event of the Beatification, it was also a great joy to think that soon Pope Francis’ envoy, His Eminence Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo, Archbishop of Kinshasa together with the new Apostolic Nuncio of Congo, would arrive in their land. So, they really went all out in preparing everything carefully in order to offer a good welcome to the guests.
All the groups, associations and ecclesial movements of the Diocese participated in the preparation of the feast in various ways; all coordinated by various committees.
A pagne with the faces of the Martyrs had also been prepared for the Beatification.
It was nice to see how everyone, after purchasing the pagne, had had a beautiful dress made according to their own taste, and so did our volunteers. I had also had a vest sewn.
And did the missionary volunteers who were with you understand well what was happening? How did they experience the preparation?
Yes, they understood it. This time when we arrived at our Community in Kavimvira, it was the children who welcomed us together with the sisters and not the Mercy volunteers as has usually been the case for the past 3 years.
Sister Jacqueline who is in charge of the volunteers, in fact explained to us that almost all the volunteers were busy with the preparations for the Beatification on August 18.
In addition, the Postulator of the Xaverian Fathers, as soon as he heard that volunteers had arrived in our Community from Italy and that there was also a carpenter among them, came immediately to greet us and to ask for help in renovating the Altar where the Celebration would take place. In addition to this, he also asked us if we would be willing to make the sedan chair for the transportation of the Relics. The bodies of the Martyrs in fact remained in Fizi and Baraka, in the places where they were killed: the inhabitants did not want them to be taken away.
To me and the volunteers, it seemed almost like a dream to be there in Congo for a work camp and precisely in Kavimvira in the Diocese of Uvira, where precisely the Beatification of Martyrs Luigi Carrara, Vittorio Faccin, Giovanni Didonè and Albert Joubert, killed in Baraka and Fizi in the Mulele rebellion in Congo in 1964, took place.
Of course we knew that we would attend the Mass of Beatification, but not of the role we would play in the preparation.
One of the volunteers, a photography enthusiast, applied for a pass to move and photograph freely in the big celebration on August 18 and was granted it along with other photographers.
What is the best memory you brought back to Italy from this experience?
The best memory was to have had the grace to welcome and host in the two days prior to the Beatification, in the Chapel of our Community in Kavimvira, the Relics of the four martyrs.
This was a very moving thing, because we did not expect it.
Already a few months before, when we heard that the Holy Father had signed the decree of Beatification, we rejoiced with great joy, because we seemed to see fulfilled the prophecy of our founding mother Gemma Eufemia Giannini, who when she went to visit the sisters, her daughters, who were serving at the Community of the Xaverian Fathers in Desio, told them, “Dear, sisters, serve these students well, because one day some of them will become Martyrs.”
Let us give thanks to God, for these brothers of ours who had the courage in faith, to give their witness even to the point of death, while standing by their brothers as true Pastors following the example of Jesus!