The Central African nation has recorded at least 12,865 cases of the pandemic including 75 deaths and 11,750 recoveries.
In his February 17 message for Lent obtained by ACI Africa, Bishop Managwu says, “Gabon needs your spiritual support in order to implore and receive divine graces for the conversion and salvation of its people.”
Reflecting on the Readings for Ash Wednesday, he says, “As the prophet Joel suggests in the first reading of this first day of Lent, let us all return to God, with all our hearts, in fasting, in tears, in mourning.”
“Let us return to the Lord, our God, with Gabon and all its inhabitants, in order to be sincerely reconciled among ourselves and with God, our Creator, who at the right moment listens to us and, on the day of salvation, gives us his help,” the 61-year-old Gabonese Bishop says.
Making reference to the Gospel reading, Bishop Managwu goes on to say, “Only God can grant us true conversion and free us from our religious hypocrisies, social inequalities, falsehood, scorn and illicit wealth.”
The Local Ordinary of Port-Gentil who doubles as Chairman of the Episcopal Commission for the Laity, Family Life and Youth of the Episcopal Conference of Gabon (CEG) further invites the people of God in the country to “renounce the desire for revenge and seek conversion, so that we may love our neighbor as God wills.”
“Let us not dominate our brothers and sisters, who are already living in precarious conditions. Let us vote for laws to help them. And God will bless our country,” he says, addressing himself to the political class in the Central African nation.
The Bishop who has been at the helm of Port-Gentil Diocese since 2016 urges deliberate efforts to involve God in daily experiences during Lent “in order to take measures that are in accordance with His will, for the good of His people.”
“I wish you a good and fruitful Lenten Season under the guidance of the Holy Spirit,” Bishop Managwu says in his February 17 message for this year’s Lent.
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.
