Saturday, June 17, 2023. We were many in our church “St John the Evangelist” in Entoto (Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) to accompany our dear brother Matthieu de la Croix. After 2 years with us and 4 years of simple vows, he showed himself worthy and willing to commit himself forever in our congregation. Many people from Benin, Togo and Burkina Faso came to represent their countries around him. Joy and fraternity touched our hearts that day.
Our Provincial, Father Côme Emmanuel himself, came from Guinea to preside over and receive his consecration. We, his brothers, were also present to prepare this celebration of the love of God and the love of man, who met in this eternal embrace that day in our little church.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
“He said to him, “Follow me.” And he got up and followed him.” (The call of St Matthew, Mt 9:9)

Ǝn-kwan-deu-na-meu-tu: “Welcome” to Ethiopia!!!

The only African country that has not known colonization, Ethiopia is a country that has interested me since the time of my novitiate where I lived with Ethiopian brothers. Today, it has been two months since I arrived in this country for my apostolic experience and I am discovering a magnificent landscape and a culture impregnated with religion. Mostly Orthodox, the people live their daily lives to the rhythm of religious festivals. The festival of Meskel (the Holy Cross), which I attended, is a national holiday. It was impressive to see the enthusiasm that it aroused in the streets. On the Catholic side, I discovered the Ethiopian rite with its liturgical language “Ge’ez”. I attended a mass in this rite and I was able to realize how much importance is given to singing in this liturgy. The population is very young and well rooted in the culture. Thus, the young Ethiopians who surround us are also passionate about worship. I continue my immersion in this culture, great by its history, to bring you more pearls next time and I wish you to be able to visit one day this beautiful and great country of Africa. Bekerbu Enəgənagnalən (See you soon)!!!

Brother Theophane-Marie

On September 14, during the celebration of the Mass of the Triumph of the Cross, Brother Yakob (Ethiopia) pronounced his vows of chastity, poverty and obedience for life in Rimont (France). This feast is the feast of “Meskel” (the Cross) that we celebrate as a solemnity in Ethiopia.

The mass started with the entrance procession, there our brother went forward with great enthusiasm to the altar, then he went to take his place. Several people who loved him followed him online on Facebook. After listening to the reading of the Holy Gospel, the first part of the consecration ritual began with the invocation of the Holy Spirit followed by the homily of the Prior General. Brother François-Xavier showed us the depth of the mystery of the cross, linked to this act of self-giving of the life of our brother.

“Yes, I do”

Brother Yakob expressed four times his desire to consecrate himself for life; to then prostrate himself and listen to the invocation to all the saints. The whole community gathered implored the intercession of heaven so that the blessing would descend upon him. A few moments later, his act of consecration was read and then the signature of the act of consecration. The perpetually professed brothers welcomed him into the Great Family of Saint John, and then the celebration of Mass continued.

At the end of the Eucharist we had the traditional aperitif where we were able to meet several of his compatriots and share with them. During the meal the apostolic sisters gave us a surprise: they shared with us a song in Amharic and we all raised our hands to give thanks with the chorists.
Thanks be to God, it was a fraternal celebration full of joy.

For the Brothers of St. John in Ethiopia, the rainy season always rhymes with summer camps for youth, families, and the disadvantaged. Following a request for help from the Missionary Sisters of Charity, this year we chose to go to Wonji — two hours south of Addis near Adama — for the Charity Mission Camp from July 26 to 29.

This mission was different from the previous years. It consisted in teaching English and Ethics in the morning for 5 days in the Catholic school of Wonji for 600 students divided into 5 classes from kindergarten to 4th grade.

A total of 6 girls and 9 boys from Addis Ababa, Debrezeit, and Hosanna were trained a few days before the camp by Brothers Matthieu de la Croix and Philippe François to fulfill this teaching mission so important today for young people who lack orientation and are often unaware of the moral values essential to succeed in life.

Besides the morning classes given to the students, we could enjoy the hot springs of Sodere (20 km from Wonji).

We also cooperated with the diocesan priests of St. Mary’s Catholic Parish in Wonji: discovery of the pastoral ministry in the three “camps” of families of workers in the sugar cane fields, a soccer game with the youth of the parish, and a beautiful vigil of adoration on Thursday evening with a preaching on the works of mercy by the parish priest Abba Yohanes.

Strong and enthusiastic about this experience, 5 young people from the camp and others from Addis Ababa volunteered to continue for another two weeks this experience of teaching and tutoring the students of the Catholic school with the agreement of the parish and the Missionary Sisters of Charity of Wonji.

We give thanks for having been able to bring a little knowledge and light to the young people of this city during their vacations in response to the call of the prophet Hosea: “my people perish for lack of knowledge” Hosea 4,6

“I am grateful to him who has strengthened me”

What a crowd to witness this testimony of God’s choice and man’s response! Members of the French-speaking community, English-speaking friends, youth, families, and the Oblates we serve here in Ethiopia have all gathered at this event.

The Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Antoine Camilleri, gave a beautiful homily before proceeding with the rite of ordination of our brother.

“Every ordination and even every sacrament received in the Church is a reminder of the free call of God who chooses us despite our unworthiness.”

This is the message that we can hold following the ordination of our brother Moise-Etienne this July 31, 2022. The text that inspired him the most comes from the first letter of Saint Paul to Timothy: “I am grateful to him who has strengthened me, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he considered me trustworthy in appointing me to the ministry…” (1Timothy 1:12)

South Sudan: The land trodden by St. Daniel Comboni

The visit of Pope Francis to South Sudan, scheduled for 5-7 July 2022, has motivated fr Moise Etienne and fr Philippe François to visit this country in the footsteps of St. Josephine Bakhita (1865-1947) and St. Daniel Comboni (1831-1881).

St. Daniel Comboni, the founder of the Comboni Missionaries whose charism is to “Save Africa with Africans“, wrote to his parents in 1858 while he was a missionary in Sudan: “We will have to work hard, sweat and die: but the thought that we sweat and die for the love of Jesus Christ and the salvation of the most abandoned souls in the world is far too sweet for us to give up this great enterprise...”.

He was ordained bishop in 1877 and appointed Vicar Apostolic of Central Africa. He died four years later of an illness in Khartoum on 10 October 1881 at the age of 50 years.

Despite the cancellation of the Pope’s trip because of his knee, we decided to maintain our journey as we had already booked our plane tickets….. Despite several setbacks as soon as we arrived at the airport in Juba, the capital,  our first impression of the reality of this young country was a feeling of wonderment mixed with dismay at the poverty. We were able to meet some religious communities in Juba (Fr. Richard, rector of the major seminary of Juba, Mgr. Eduardo Hiboro Kussala, bishop of Yambio, Fr. Luis, provincial of the Comboni Missionaries, Fr. Moses Raja and the community of Indian priests of the MMI fathers, Fr. Waldemar, responsible for the Salesian formation center at Gumbo-Juba) and visited some places (the Blue Nile, the city of ministries) while waiting patiently for the flight to Yambio.

The bishop of Yambio, Mgr Edouardo, whom we met in Juba on the occasion of the arrival of Cardinal PAROLIN, Secretary of State of the Vatican, spoke to us passionately about his diocese located in the West of South Sudan, close to the Congo DRC and the Central African Republic, and shared with us “the wonders of his land”. Barani Edouardo, as he is called, showed us the strengths and challenges of his diocese.

Have you ever experienced being greeted to the point where your knuckles hurt? Welcome to Yambio. Our departure was postponed several times due to a lack of space on the plane, but we finally landed in Yambio. We admired the beauty of South Sudan -forest and various market gardens with red dirt roads- during an hour-and-a-half flight at low altitude in a small Cessna 208 Caravan plane with 20 passengers.

As soon as we arrived, the warm welcome of the resident priests at the bishop’s house and of the laity allowed us to experience the Church family of God. With only two days in Yambio, the socio-pastoral coordinator, Fr Charles, had organized an intense program to visit part of this large diocese, starting with a meeting with Father Thomas, vicar general, and an interview with the Catholic radio station “Anissa Radio”

Everywhere we went, those we met – the Brothers of Christian Instruction in Rimenzé, the Sisters of Nzanré, the hospital of Saint Theresa, the minor seminary, the philosophate, the diocesan retreat centre, the women’s promotion centre in Gangara, the NGO Solidarity – all let us know with the same refrain the deepest thirst of this part of Africa: “Our country needs education“.

During this short stay, we were able to discover the young church of the diocese of Yambio, alive and dynamic, acting with perseverance and hope in the face of real challenges.

Father Charles states: “The church is the main actor in the development of the region of Yambio“, in unison with this quotation from Populorum Progressio of the Second Vatican Council: “Development is the new name for Peace“.

We left full of enthusiasm despite the fatigue by the same plane to Juba on 9 July, the day of the 11th anniversary of the independence of the youngest country in the world, before returning to Addis Ababa on 10 July.

In connection with this trip and a Sudanese lay leader, Simon Dukpuro, Brother Philippe François organized in Addis Ababa on 23 July 2022 a day of sharing and training on the theme “Actors for Peace and Reconciliation in South Sudan” for 20 Sudanese Catholic students from 9 state universities in Ethiopia.

Following the example of Pope Francis who knelt on 11 April 2019 in Rome to kiss the feet of President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Vice Presidents Riek Machar and Rebecca Nyandeng to be peacemakers as brothers in their country, we are invited to pray unceasingly for Peace, Justice, and Reconciliation in South Sudan.

Every December 27, the brothers of Saint John celebrate their patron saint in all the countries and continents where they are established. This year, although we were in union with our brothers throughout the world, we also wanted to live it, particularly in communion with the church of Ethiopia whose liturgical calendar is a little different from the Roman calendar used by all the Catholic faithful. This first experience took place on January 12, according to the said calendar.  To well prepare for this feast, a novena in honor of Saint John was organized and crowned on the last day by a vigil of prayer and adoration. To make the Ethiopians discover the figure of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist, we also gave teachings on the life and works of the beloved disciple of our Lord.

Many people were invited to this feast, namely the priests of the archdiocese, the oblates and friends of the community, the young students and many other people. The young people invested a lot of time with the brothers so that the celebration could take place in a good atmosphere.

Concelebrated by a group of about ten priests, the Mass of Saint John was celebrated in the Ethiopian rite with G’eez as the liturgical language. Around this sacred and magnificent altar, the priests began the mass with the presentation of the offerings: the fruit of the work of men that would become the Body and Blood of Christ during this holy celebration.  In his homily, the preacher, Abba Gabriel, a Capuchin, explicitly emphasized in his fervent preaching that the priory of the brothers of St. John in Entoto is like Mount Sion, a place of spiritual renewal where one comes to meet God and contemplate him. It is a pleasant place where one breathes the fresh air of the mountains and nature, a sign of profound life. The mass was animated by a group of young people gathered for the occasion.  The sublime songs performed by this youth choir accompanied by the piano expanded our hearts and raised us to heaven.

After this beautiful Eucharistic celebration, there was a teaching on the figure of Saint John the Apostle and Evangelist by Father Daniel (exegete) followed by a short presentation of the community by Brother Philippe François. This allowed our guests to know better our charism and our apostolates in Ethiopia and in the world. At noon the prior, Brother Philippe François blessed the festive meal carefully prepared by the mothers under the guidance of one of our oblates. We enjoyed the delicious dishes accompanied by sweet and alcoholic beverages that gave a better taste to our mouths.

In joy and good humor, we continued the feast with musical animation and games.  The simplicity and the closeness of the brothers during this feast favored the reinforcement of our fraternal links with the local clergy and the young Ethiopians.

As in a choir, everyone played their part in a beautiful harmony sot that this first experience becomes a success and that it remains engraved forever in our hearts. We are delighted with the efforts made by each one for this beautiful realization which makes us think that it was the first and not be the last.

We would like to thank all those who supported us spiritually, morally, financially and materially. May God repay you a hundredfold!