The following story comes from the Salesian News Agency (ANS):The second day that Benedict XVI spent in Angola opened with Mass celebrated with the bishops, priests, religious, ecclesial movements, and catechists from Angola and São Tomé, where his arrival had been awaited with great excitement by the church community and the Salesians in the parish of St. Paul in Luanda.
The Mass took place in the Salesian parish of St. Paul in Luanda. The church built by the Capuchin Fathers in 1935 and entrusted to the Salesians in 1982 was recently re-structured in view of the visit by the Pope.
About 3,000 people were present at the Mass. Because of the large number, the faithful were grouped in three sections: one in the church, another in the nearby area beside the church where a large screen had been installed, and a third in the road in front of the church, also with a large screen.
Commenting on the readings for the day, the Pope invited those present to deepen their knowledge of the Lord as St. Paul did when he met the Risen Christ, which gave a new direction to his life: “Far from being merely a stage in Paul’s personal growth, this was a death to himself and a resurrection in Christ: one form of life died in him, and a new form was born, with the Risen One.”
Referring to the history of the people in that country, the first sub-Saharian Christian kingdom, Benedict XVI entrusted to the bishops, religious, and catechists the task of bringing the Risen Christ to their fellow citizens, overcoming difficulties and resistance. “But if we are convinced and have come to experience that without Christ life lacks something, that something real – indeed, the most real thing of all – is missing, we must also be convinced that we do no injustice to anyone if we present Christ to them and thus grant them the opportunity of finding their truest and most authentic selves, the joy of finding life. Indeed, we must do this. It is our duty to offer everyone this possibility of attaining eternal life.”
In his homily the Pope had words of thanks for the local community of St. Paul’s Parish: “Finally, let me offer a particular greeting to the Salesian community and the faithful of this parish of Saint Paul; they have welcomed us to their church, without hesitating to yield the place which is usually theirs in the liturgical assembly. I know that they are gathered in the field next door, and I hope, at the end of this Eucharist, to see them and give them my blessing, but even now I say to them: Many thanks! May God raise up in you, and through you, many apostles modelled on your patron.”
At the end of the Mass, in fact, the Pope went to the nearby area to greet and bless the faithful. Here he met the young people of the Salesian Youth Movement. Coming from all the houses in the Angola Vice Province, they had arrived in the city of Luanda last Wednesday to take part in a period of spiritual preparation and celebration for the visit of the Pope. Yesterday they were present for the arrival of Benedict XVI in the capital. After the Mass in St Paul’s Church, they went to the Dos Coqueiros Stadium, where the Pope met the young people, and tomorrow they will take part in the concluding Mass at Cimangola.
The parish of St. Paul is the first, chronologically, of the four Salesian foundations in Angola’s capital. Arriving in Luanda in 1982, the Don Bosco’s sons immediately became involved in the education and evangelization of the young and of ordinary people. This Salesian community with 5 confreres is engaged in the running of the parish, in a reception center for young people in difficulty, an oratory–youth center, a center for Salesian Cooperators, and a vocational training center also offering informal courses.The Salesians in Luanda are present also in the Valódia district, which is the vice provincial seat, in Palanca, and in Lixeira.
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