Church in Ivory Coast to Spearhead “integral human development” Initiatives This Year

“The proclamation of the Gospel must rediscover the ardor of the beginnings of the evangelization of the African continent, attributed to the evangelist Mark, followed by an innumerable crowd of saints, martyrs, confessors and virgins,” the CECCI Secretary General says.

He goes on to acknowledge with appreciation the service rendered by missionaries over the years in his country saying, “With gratitude, we must learn from the enthusiasm of many missionaries who, for many centuries, sacrificed their lives to bring the Good News to their African brothers and sisters.”

“In giving thanks and remembering, we must commit ourselves to the next one: the celebration of 150 years of evangelization,” Fr. Nin says and adds, “It is absolutely necessary to make up for the delay in the formation and capacity building of pastoral agents, consecrated and lay.”

For him, “The Jubilee enables us to grasp life with all its intensity, taking on the one hand the immense missionary work of the pioneers of evangelization in Ivory Coast and on the other hand the responsibility that everyone bears for the pursuit and deepening of this work.”

The Holy Mass marking the close of the three-year jubilee celebration will be conducted alongside that of the climax of the 117th Plenary Assembly of CECCI.

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The event is scheduled to take place on January 24 at the Cathedral of Saint Esprit in Mockeyville, in the Diocese of Grand-Bassam.

The conclusion of the celebrations will be marked by a day of prayer, adoration and intercession, a concert of songs of praise and adoration, Eucharistic celebration to be held in all Parishes on Sunday, January 17 and a triduum of prayer from January 19 - 21.

“Pope Francis dedicated this new year to Saint Joseph. May the good master of the house, St. Joseph, who personally knows what it means to reflect, in an attitude of solicitude and hope, protect and accompany the Church on Ivorian soil in her mission at the service of mankind,” Fr. Nin says in the January 12 interview.

The Ivorian Cleric seeks the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary saying, may the “Mother of the Word of God and Our Lady of Peace, continue to accompany pastors and faithful in 2021 through her intercession and her invitations to do whatever her Son tells us.”

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.