New Pastoral Year Launched in CAR Archdiocese, Cardinal Urges Faithful to “get involved”

“In order to collaborate in the work of salvation in Jesus Christ,” the Cardinal said that there is need for the people of God to take courage to reach out to each other.

“It must therefore be in a position of care to reach men and women where they live, with their joys and their sorrows, their fears and their expectations, their tears and their hope,” the 56-year-old Cardinal who started his Episcopal Ministry in July 2012 as Archbishop of Bangui said.

The Spiritan Cardinal further said, “We are all missionary disciples, following Christ. Living and carrying out the mission of proclaiming the Gospel imposes on us the duty not to desert the paths of those who share our daily lives, and with whom we share the same destiny.”

“The mission is lived out in connection with the concrete reality of the world as it is, with its joys and its challenges, in particular the challenges of peace and justice, the challenge of love and human solidarity, the challenge of building a more fraternal society, the challenge of living together in harmony for the good of all,” he said.

The Archbishop of Bangui continued, “It is by taking on these challenges as part of her specific mission that the Church works to bring about the reign of God. In this pastoral work, it is therefore necessary to regularly reassess the progress made.”

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“Let us give thanks for the beautiful gift of renewed missionary impetus that the Lord is giving us today,” he further said during the official launching of the New Pastoral Year of Bangui Archdiocese.

Cardinal Nzapalainga added, “Filled with the joy and strength of his Spirit, let us set out on the roads of mission with new determination.”

“May the Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Our Lady of Ubangi, walk with us, and may she help us to share the joy of salvation in Jesus Christ,” the Local Ordinary of Bangui said during the September 24 event.

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.