29 Aug 2019
We were very pleased to see these wonderful photographs from our MSC mission in Mozambique, when the community of Our Lady of Fatima paid a visit to the village of Mitepo at the end of July.
It was especially nice to see so many children and young people join the gathering, where they “animated the celebration” with their joyful presence.
This was a “very meaningful and blessed morning” for our missionary community, said the MSC Mozambique Facebook page. The visit ended with a special lunch – which, in Mitepo, is referred to as “a glass of water”.
The MSC community celebrates Mass in Mitepo, Mozambique. (Image courtesy of the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.)
The MSC community celebrates Mass in Mitepo, Mozambique. (Image courtesy of the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.)
The MSC community celebrates Mass in Mitepo, Mozambique. (Image courtesy of the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.)
The Mozambique mission began almost a year and a half ago, in March 2018, when MSC missionaries from Brazil began ministering in the Pemba diocese. This is an extremely poor part of the country, which was sadly lacking in any church infrastructure and functioning pastoral ministry. Here, our MSC brothers began the construction of a community house from which they could undertake their ministry and parish outreach, and they immediately began working to bring positive change to the district.
Just a year after the mission began, in March and April 2019, two cyclones hit north-eastern Mozambique over the space of six weeks, killing hundreds and rendering over 21,000 people homeless. Floods and mudslides destroyed homes, crops, and livestock, with no means of recovery. Many houses in the area were built of mud, bamboo, and wood, and so they didn’t stand a chance against the tremendous force of nature that struck them. “We have lost everything,” said one survivor. “Our house and most of our belongings were taken by the wind and the waves.”
MSC missionaries had already been working to rebuild struggling communities in the area before the cyclones hit, and in the wake of these disasters, they have been continuing to help devastated families to restore the shattered pieces of their lives.
A “blessed” morning as MSCs visit Mitepo, Mozambique. (Image courtesy of the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.)
A “blessed” morning as MSCs visit Mitepo, Mozambique. (Image courtesy of the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.)
A “blessed” morning as MSCs visit Mitepo, Mozambique. (Image courtesy of the MSC Mozambique Facebook page.)
We are sending every blessing to our MSC brothers and the communities they serve in Mozambique, from all in the Irish Province.