Catholic Relief Services also Means Travel

L-R: CARLA BROWN, BISHOP LAURENT DABIRE, ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY P. BROGLIO, CARDINAL PHILIPPE OUEDRAOGO, AND BISHOP LEOPOLD OUEDRAOGO

Another twenty-four hours of flights and airports draw to a close and I look forward to two more long trips before 2019 fuses into 2020! This particular trip was unique. Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the international charity of the Catholic Church in the U.S.A. asked me, as a member of their Board, to make a solidarity visit to my brother bishops in Burkina Faso and Niger.

These two former French colonies in West Africa are among the poorest in the world and are not well-known in the States. I had been to both before, because my first assignment as Secretary to the Apostolic Nunciature in the Ivory Coast also accredited me to Burkina Faso (formerly Upper Volta) and Niger.

At present they are buffeted by different groups that oblige the population in portions of the country to flee. Niger has also received large groups of displaced immigrants who hoped to reach Europe or were engaged in the Libyan labor market, but have been expelled. These internal refugees weigh heavily on populations already struggling to survive a meager existence.

While the Northeastern portion of the U.S. began to experience the first signs of winter, I dusted out my white cassocks and braved temperatures in the 90’s. At least Niger is fairly dry!

The interchanges with my brother bishops were rich and fraternal. There was a desire to know about the Church in the U.S.A. and tell about their communities. For the first part of my visit, the President of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Burkina Faso and Niger, the Most Reverend Laurent Dabiré, Bishop of Dori, was my constant companion. In Ouagadougou, the

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ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY P. BROGLIO’S TRIP TO THE DIOCESE OF KAYA (100 KM FROM THE OUAGADOUGOU THE CAPITAL OF BURKINA FASO)

POPE FRANCIS PRESENTS A GIFT TO ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY P. BROGLIO FOLLOWING THEIR AD LIMINA VISIT AT THE VATICAN ON 3 DECEMBER 2019 © 2019 SERVIZIO FOTOGRAFICO VATICANO | ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

capital of Burkina Faso, I celebrated All Saints’ Day Mass with the Englishspeaking community and then met with four internally displaced people at the residence of the Cardinal Archbishop of Ouagadougou, His Eminence Philippe Ouédrago. One was a catechist who had to flee for his life and was ashamed that he had to leave his family behind. They were not in danger, but he, as a religious “leader”, was a marked man. The other three were Moslems, one of whom appeared to be quite elderly.

In Kaya, to the north of the capital, I blessed a new library built by CRS to enrich the life of the community. There was also a meeting with a large group of internally displaced people. At most of these gatherings I was called upon to make some appropriate remarks, assure them of our prayers,

and promise to make their plight known. Sometimes the gathering became somewhat long, because my remarks in French were then translated into Moré, a prominent local language.

Before leaving Ouagadougou I celebrated Mass at St. Sebastian Parish, a military community. The Mass was enthusiastic and the French and Moré choirs shared their talents to enrich the beauty (and the length!) of the celebrations. Unlike our military chapels, this one was not air-conditioned and the fans offered little consolation! However, the XXXI Sunday in ordinary time was anything but ordinary.

At that celebration, I wore the beautiful chasuble given to me by the CRS staff in Ouagadougou. It was locally made (albeit not from fabric produced by the CRS-sponsored cotton gins in the city).

A short flight brought me to Niamey, the dusty capital of Niger. There the Vicar General, CRS Country Representative, and Father Ryan Boyle (Ch, Maj, USAF), accompanied by two airmen, met me. After the formalities which included donning a traditional wide-brimmed straw hat and ornament, Father Boyle took me to the air base.

That very temporary facility houses the Armed Forces from several Nations. A short tour convinced me that inside was a good place to be.

It was a pleasure to join the Italian Forces present and to pray with them to commemorate the anniversary of the end of World War I in Italy. They had prepared a plaque which I blessed. Of course, a great cup of espresso was offered and accepted.

Later I was able to offer Sunday Mass for the community. The majority of the congregation was composed of the Italian contingent and so the second reading was done in Italian and I added something in my homily in the language of my grandparents. continued on page 8

My first dinner of that Sunday was at the dining facility. Of course, I did not know that a second dinner was in the plans. At any rate, there had been no lunch!

Promptly as planned, Father Boyle handed me over to the Archbishop of Niamey, the Most Reverend Laurent Lombo, and the Bishop of Maradi, the Most Reverend Ambroise Ouedrago. These two prelates, my brothers in the episcopate, would be my guides for the next three days. They, along with the Bishops of Burkina Faso, have become dear.

Niger is a huge country with a population of only 23 million of whom 99% are Muslim. There is great tolerance in the country and Catholics are respected. Our schools (mostly pre-school and elementary) have a long waiting list. The education in values and familiarity with the Catholic faith has made an enormous contribution to the country and the bishops would like to be in a position to offer more high school education, as well. That is one of their hopes from association with the Church in the U.S.A.

The visit to Niamey included time to become acquainted with CRS programs in the country, meetings with the Minister of the Interior who is also charged with religious matters and with the Ministry of Health, visits to schools, and a center for the formation of young women. Especially moving were two visits on Tuesday. The first was to the women’s nutritional center and infirmary (for recovery of both men and women) run by the Missionaries of Charity who are celebrating twenty-five years in Niger. These selfless women are completely dedicated to the poor in whom they clearly see the face of Christ.

The second was to St. Gabriel Parish where the church and catechetical center were burned in 2015 by a youthful mob reacting to the infamous cartoons ridiculing the Moslem faith in Frat Hebdo, a French

LEFT TO RIGHT: BISHOP NEAL J. BUCKON, REV. MR. TIMOTHY MERGEN, BISHOP RICHARD B. HIGGINS, MR. MADISON HAYES, ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY P. BROGLIO, BISHOP WILLIAM (BILL) MUHM, BISHOP JOSEPH L. COFFEY, MR. PETER LUDWIG, MR. BRADLEY EASTERBROOKS, BISHOP F. RICHARD SPENCER, AND MR. PATRICK COSTELLO AT THE VATICAN ON 3 DECEMBER 2019.

publication. The Armed Forces intervened before the same mob could burn the cathedral. It is so tragic that in the XXI century men and women cannot live together and respect what is most precious, faith in God.

This parish also houses a center to welcome and offer initial assistance to the refugee populations. The Church is ever a place where those in need, regardless of their faith, can find care and professional assistance.

There was an opportunity to visit the minor seminary and also to dialogue with the priests, religious women, and pastoral ministers at the Cathedral of Niamey. They had many questions about the ministry to the members of the Armed Forces and the Veterans, as well as, about the Church in the United States.

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That evening I celebrated Mass in the Cathedral of Niamey. There was a good congregation composed of many different African nationalities. The Bishops of Niger are very proud of the fact that the Church is very African and no longer completely manned by European missionaries.

My last day in Niamey also included a visit to the U.S. Ambassador and his Deputy. There was a good interchange there about the local situation.

After some days in Washington and Baltimore, where I was elected Secretary of the U.S. Bishops Conference (there is a Bishop Secretary and a priest who serves as Secretary General), it was time to celebrate Thanksgiving in Cleveland. Then, on so-called “Black Friday” I flew to Rome for the start of the Ad Limina visit with the Bishops of Region IV. Every five years diocesan bishops are required to prepare a report on the status of their dioceses and then visit the Congregations of the Holy See, the four major Basiliche, and especially, the Bishop of Rome, Francis.

Thanks to the North American College, the U.S. national seminary in Rome, everything went very smoothly. The Pope spent two and a half hours in conversation with the Bishops of Regions IV and V. It was a broad vision of our concerns and his guidance. He made an impassioned appeal for the continuation of Catholic schools, spoke about the importance of encouraging and accompanying young people in their growth in the faith, and urged us to solicit the collaboration of the laity in the formation and evaluation of candidates for priestly ministry.

The Ad Limina visit ended with a lovely celebration of the Eucharist in the Cathedral of Rome, the Basilica of the Divine Savior and St. John in Laterano, over which Bishop Herbert Bevard, the Bishop of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands presided.

Madison Hayes, a co-sponsored seminarian from Anchorage, Alaska, and I left the Cathedral for the train station en route to Assisi, where

CENTER L: ARCHBISHOP TIMOTHY P. BROGLIO, ARCHBISHOP FOR THE MILITARY SERVICES, USA STANDING NEXT TO ARCHBISHOP DOMENICO SORRENTINO, THE BISHOP OF ASSISI, ALONG WITH MARRIAGE ENRICHMENT RETREAT ATTENDEES.

eighteen couples gathered with Mark Moitoza for a marriage enrichment retreat. The couples enjoyed their time in dialogue and also the Saturday afternoon visit to the city of St. Francis. Archbishop Sorrentino, the Bishop of Assisi, welcomed us and gave us a tour of his residence where St. Francis stripped himself and declared that only God was his Father.

New to me was the fact that the Bishop of Assisi sheltered and saved 300 Jewish people who were about to be captured in the last months of World War II.

Now it is time to think about and prepare for one more Christmas in the Middle East. V