By Simon Mputu, cicm

2022 marks the 30th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the Holy See and the Government of Mongolia. But more importantly, for the Mongolian faithful, it is the 30th anniversary of the Catholic Church in this land. Yes, 30 years ago, some three brave missionaries embarked on a mission to share the Mongolian people’s salvation journey. We are blessed to still have two of our valiant confreres with us: Fr. Robert Goessens in Japan and Fr. Gilbert Sales in the Philippines, while our beloved Bishop Wenceslao Padilla (Wens) has already preceded us to the father.

This time of celebration is undoubtedly an opportunity to thank God for the countless blessings bestowed upon the Mongolian people during these past 30 years. We are indeed fortunate to be part of this incredible journey on the Steppe, in the steps of our beloved Founder, Fr. Théophile Verbist, as servants in this vineyard of the Lord.

Indeed, the story of CICM and Mongols did not start after the Democratic Revolution! At the beginning of our Missionary Institute, CICM and the Mongolian people had already tied a knot. They were among the first people CICM served in the world. Shortly after arriving in Inner Mongolia, China, our founder had made it a point that some CICM learn the Mongolian language to do their apostolate among the Mongols. He was then aware that working among the Mongols would not be easy. He already knew that Mongols were not as open and as welcoming to the Gospel message as the Chinese. However, that did not quench in him and his companions the desire and the determination to bring the Gospel to the Mongols because they had faith in God, the Master of the mission. From this, we can understand that Verbist and the early confreres were not interested in whether they would be met with flowers or whether their message would find a smooth or rough terrain. It was, instead, their love for the mission that mattered. In one of his letters to novices, he said, “To him who loves nothing is difficult.” That love led them to embrace the mission to Mongols, regardless of apparent indifference and the harsh weather conditions.

It is reported that when CICM was forced out of China (Inner Mongolia), there were roughly 2000 Catholics among the Mongols. Today, as the Church celebrates 30 years of journey with the Mongolian people, there are about 1300 Catholics here in “Outer” Mongolia. So, it sounds like a déjà vu.

Times have changed, but the mission has remained the same, and the Mongolian mindset seems to have changed only very little. Of course, today, we boast of modern technology’s prowess, which allows us to be in touch with our loved ones. Although the weather has remained the same, we boast of having better clothing to fend off the cold. We have humidifiers and air purifiers to ensure healthier air in our living rooms and churches. But we are still facing the same indifference to the Gospel that Verbist and his companions faced more than a century ago. We are still dealing with the same difficulties Bishop Wens, Frs. Robert and Gilbert met 30 years ago. Perhaps the only difference would be that they were motivated by those challenges and problems while we are terrified by them! The ebbs and flows they encountered made them trust God even more, whereas we tend to lean more on our abilities to make things work. Sometimes, we like to project ourselves as fixers. But then, when we realize that we cannot fix it, we get discouraged and eventually build “small kingdoms” around ourselves with people who dance on the same foot as we do. Or we start pointing fingers at one another to make sure somebody carries the blame.

Indeed, many of us, not just CICM but other congregations working in Mongolia, express frustration at how slow the Church is growing in Mongolia. I remember how the Korean Fidei Donum priest, currently Rector of SPP Cathedral, expressed that frustration during Mass during our Advent Recollection last year: “We are going to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Church in Mongolia. But our churches are empty. So, what are we going to celebrate then?” he lamented. He is among the veterans here. Now, if a veteran is frustrated in such a manner, what about a newcomer!

If we look at the statistics, we might find no reason to celebrate. Moreover, the pace with which other Christian churches, primarily Protestants, are growing can make us feel shy even to tell others that we have been here for 30 years. Once I had a chat with a Mongolian Mormon faithful, and I was surprised to learn that they have more than 20 Mongolian missionaries in other countries on top of the 62 others working locally. Their church membership as of December 2021 is more than 11,000. But the Mormon church arrived in Mongolia one year after the arrival of the Catholic Church.

However, celebrating an anniversary such as this is not so much about our tangible achievements. It is, instead, celebrating what God has done for and through us. We celebrate the fact that, despite our weaknesses and sometimes unfaithfulness, He has remained faithful to us and continues to journey with us. Perhaps this is also a time to sit down and understand that God has not sent us here because Mongolians are easy to win over. He did not send us on a conquest. We are here because He wants us to be here. He wants us to journey together with our Mongolian brothers and sisters, to be witnesses, not conquerors! Such an attitude will uplift us in times of trials and keep us faithful to Him who calls us to this beautiful mission in the Steppe. We should, therefore, care more about the kind of witness we bear rather than the number of church attendees.  

By Bill Wyndaele, cicm

I have been a part of the life of this Province for 62 of its 75 years. I am 86 years old now. I am no longer good with names or dates. During these years, a lot has happened. There are far too many to mention, but these are some that stand out.

Promotion Development was the original primary reason for establishing the US Mission in 1946. That is why Ernest Dieltiens was sent from China to the United States. We can only marvel at the generosity of US Catholics after 75 years of Development and Mission Awareness Work. Many benefactors became regular supporters of our missions and true Missionhurst friends. We had six men assigned to travel around the country making mission appeals in the early 1960s. For weeks at a time, they were on the road. Many confreres from other Provinces have since come to assist with mission appeals during the summer. For many years, Missionhurst Magazine was distributed to thousands of readers. In recent years, the development office has shifted its focus away from the Magazine and mailing appeals and toward a website, https://www.missionhurstcicm.org, as a more modern outreach to potential benefactors and mission awareness. We are very proud of what we have done over the years on behalf of the other CICM Provinces, and we are committed to continuing this work as a primary commitment of our Province.

Pastoral work was also accepted to make the American bishops more open to our mission appeal work. When headquarters decided to launch a mission in the United States in 1946, the number of members sent increased rapidly. It was decided to focus on the Black Ministry. Forty-five confreres were assigned to the US Mission during the first three years. It wasn’t easy to find dioceses willing to provide Black Parishes for all of these confreres. So, many were sent to Texas and several rural parishes in Virginia and Louisiana. On July 17, 1949, the General Government made the US Mission the US Province.

When I arrived in 1960, it had grown into a large Province with 86 confreres, the majority of whom were Belgian, and a few were Dutch. They were dispersed throughout the country. There were groups of confreres in the North (Detroit, Philadelphia, and Northern Virginia) who were separated from those in the South (Texas, Louisiana).

We still had several confreres working as associate pastors in Black parishes in Philadelphia and Detroit when, in the early 1960s, several confreres who had been working as associate pastors in Black parishes were drafted to become teachers in a high school (see below). By 1980, Our Lady of Sorrows, a mixed community of Blacks and people of Belgian origin, had only one confrere left. In 1994, he retired. This marked the end of our presence and Black ministry in Detroit. In Philadelphia, we had John Van de Paer, who had been George Vermeiren’s associate pastor at a predominantly Black parish, St. Charles Borromeo, since 1952 and became its pastor in 1981. He worked there successfully until his retirement in 1995. However, this would be the end of the Black Ministry in our Province. More and more confreres were being assigned to the Hispanic Ministry. The Provincial Assembly of 1980 chose to prioritize the Hispanic Ministry, with a focus on the poor. Since then, this option has been renewed in every Provincial Assembly. Until 1960, a couple of young confreres were sent from Europe each year, but in the 1960s, there was a significant decline in missionary vocations in Belgium. After their studies, very few new members were assigned to the US Province. By the late 1980s, there was growing concern that we were becoming an aging, stagnant Province. But things would change. Today we are 33.

Americanization and Formation

It was decided early in our history to recruit Americans for our Congregation. In 1958, the first novitiate was established. The Province decided to accept the staffing of a Boys’ High School (Archbishop Wood High School) in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and committed to providing up to 20 confreres for administration and teaching staff. The school first opened in 1964. The hope was that this would become a regular source for CICM vocations. However, the 1960s were a difficult period for vocations. In reality, only three graduates joined CICM over a four-year period. By 1970, it was clear that it was not appropriate for a missionary Congregation to invest so many of its members in a high school that produced so few CICM vocations. In 1974, the school was returned to the Archdiocese. Between 1958 and 1988, we had 20 novitiates and a total of 160 novices. In 1981, it was decided to postpone the novitiate until after Philosophy and instead begin a pre-novitiate program. In the 1970s, there were a lot of young men in the pre-novitiate program, but only a few made it to the novitiate. The late 1960s and early 1970s were challenging times for most formation programs in the United States. Even though we cannot call our recruitment and formation programs numerically successful, our American (US and Canadian) confreres have proven to be wonderful in their mission assignments and their service to the Congregation. Three were Provincial Superiors, one was a General Councilor, and another was a General Councilor and then a Superior General. We are proud of them and grateful for their service.

The last Novitiate was held in San Antonio from 1985 to 1986, with only one Novice. It was decided that no further efforts would be made to recruit in the United States. However, there was a strong desire to resume recruiting during the last two Provincial Assemblies. We currently have one pre-novice who is attending philosophy classes in San Antonio, Texas. We pray and hope for more vocations in the future.

The need to Americanize the US Province was felt in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Several US confreres were called back from their missions abroad to work for vocation animation, Initial Formation, and development projects (Promotion). From there, they would gradually advance to positions of leadership. Joe Giordano was the first American-born confrere to be appointed Provincial Superior in 1988. (1988-1994). From 1999 to 2006, Bill Quigley served as Provincial Superior. Mike Hann, a Canadian-born Canadian, was the first non-Belgian Rector of the Provincial House (2003-2012), and he was succeeded by Joe Giordano (2012 - 2020).

Internationalization of the Province

Three Congolese confreres were appointed to our Province between 1982 and 1983, but two were recalled after only a few years for assignments in their home Province. In 1989, 64 of the Province’s 69 members were still of Belgian or Dutch origin, growing older and thus less available for new assignments. When the General Government asked the Provincial Government how we saw the future of the US Province, our response was: “We do believe in the future of our U.S. Province, but ... in the face of the aging process of the membership of the U. S. Province ... we foresee the need of having 25 young confreres, preferably from different cultures, assigned to our Province within the next ten years...”

The General Government responded by saying that the United States Province was invaluable to the rest of the Congregation. From then on, there was a steady influx of young confreres from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The Province was quickly revitalized and truly internationalized. Several of these newcomers studied theology in San Antonio, Texas. The most recent ones participated in a three-year internship program. They are given the time they require to learn both English and Spanish and to begin the ministry under proper supervision. There are currently 11 Congolese, nine Filipinos, six Americans (five US, one Canadian), three Indonesians, one Zambian, and three Belgians in retirement among the 33 members. The consensus is that we are a relatively young and international Province.

Fuller Participation by All Members in the Government of the Province and Ongoing Formation

Our Province began involving more confreres in the Province’s decision-making process under the influence of “Kindling the Fire” (Acts of the General Chapter of 1974). In 1980, a Provincial Assembly was held at Missionhurst, where 20 delegates out of a total membership of 83 would join the members of the Provincial Government with voting rights. This Provincial Assembly decided to take our Ongoing Formation seriously. A Director of Ongoing Formation was appointed with the task of publishing and proposing sabbatical models. Between 1981 and 1984, many confreres participated in a renewal or sabbatical program. Aside from that, every other year, we held Ongoing Formation days that all members attended. The United States Church has a number of wonderful programs for spiritual renewal, healing, and leadership training. Between 1976 and 1990, we facilitated the participation of 69 members of other CICM Provinces in a sabbatical program in the United States. We will continue to do so.

Provincial Assemblies are now held every four years. Every time, we set goals for the next four years based on our CICM Charism. These Assemblies, as well as our annual retreats where all members gather, have instilled a new spirit in our group. We have the opportunity to get to know one another, we pray together, we make decisions together, and we now understand that we are all responsible for our Province. Sharing one’s thoughts and feelings was unusual before 1980 because one was afraid of the reaction of others. But, over time, we grew more accustomed to sharing our deepest thoughts, wishes, and prayers. In this regard, the assistance of qualified facilitators for the Assemblies has proven to be highly beneficial.

There is much more I could say, but my final word is one of gratitude. We have had our darker moments in our Province’s history, but we must remember to count our blessings. The Lord has blessed us. We are grateful for the many blessings that have come our way. We are grateful for the excellent leadership provided by our Institute’s General Chapters and Provincial Superiors. Gratitude for all the men who have been a part of our Province and for the hope that the younger members of the Province have held out to us. In the words of Dag Hammarskjold: “For all that has been, Thank you. For all that is to come, Yes!”  

By Jan Reynebeau, cicm

Interview with Father Jan Reynebeau, Provincial Superior of BNL, who strongly encourages the three “young” Scheutists, who came from abroad and have been living in Antwerp for 3 years and is currently preparing the insertion of a new community of three other Scheutists from Haiti, Indonesia and the Central African Republic. From Scheut en Famille, 2^nd quarter 2020

To convert?

When our elders were going for mission in the past, it was to make Jesus known, build the Church, and work for development, since in the mentality of the time, they thought they were superior to others by their know-how, their culture…

Today the world has become a big village, not only because we move around easily, but above all, because information, ideas, values, and customs are increasingly shared, forcing us to change and change together. This is why it is beneficial for all that certain values are conveyed through small communities that not only disseminate them but also assimilate them. These small communities in this world are like a breath of fresh air: made up of people from different cultures, they aerate the places where they are implanted while evolving themselves.

What about God in all this?

It is evident that it is the Gospel that opens these missionaries to other cultures, and they discover other ways of encountering God, enriched by different religious practices. They hope to enrich their friends with their own practices as well. They will also do so by following the example of Jesus when he met people of his time. More than once, when he was in Senegal, Gabi Hénaut was told by Muslim friends: Gabi Djouf, you are like us, why don’t you become a Muslim? Sharing religious values and practices is an integral part of the Mission. Today, some people dare to say that God is too great to be enclosed in one religion!

These new confreres, are they going to fill in the gaps?

To replace the missing priests in Belgium? Absolutely not! To save or restore the Church: NO. Their objective is to collaborate to build a better world, the Kingdom of God. They will do this by living together while they are from very different cultures and origins: to be witnesses in an increasingly multicultural Belgium, of what a “living together” is a great richness.

They will also do so by paying special attention to the most abandoned, those who do not count or who count little in our society: the poor, the voiceless, the refugees? And finally, by taking various initiatives that will allow people to get together, create communion, evacuate the fear of the other… It is an opportunity for them to meet many people who are either distant from the Church or totally indifferent. Sharing common values with them while maintaining and/or enriching their personal faith is a true missionary task

Won’t they be parish priests?

In the present circumstances, they will be integrated into an existing structure: a pastoral unit in Mechelen, a multicultural city. But since there are three of them, the task will probably be less heavy to carry, which will allow them to go beyond the boundaries of the usual pastoral care, and to get out of the Church because that is where a good part of the people they have to reach are located.

We remember how another Scheutist–Paul Hanson–had joined a pigeon fancier group when he realized that it was the hobby of many people in his community. Moreover, it will also be an opportunity for the parish community to get out of itself and to meet other religions as well.

The three “young” Scheutists, who came from abroad and have been living in Antwerp for three years.
Ghislain Toussé (Cameroon), Thomas Hendrikus (Indonesia), Fabio Teixeira (Brazil) [From left to right]

By Peter Koh, cicm

The day of my departure for Malawi finally came on October 12, 2020. That day certainly did not come easily. There were many hurdles to overcome to reach that day. The General Government had planned that the confreres of the new Malawi Mission would have a six-week preparatory and team building session in Rome from mid-August to the end of September. The team would then leave together for the new mission at the end of September. On arrival, we would have two to three months of study of the local language before proceeding to the two mission posts that the bishop plans to entrust to CICM.

Then came the coronavirus pandemic. Countries all over the world closed their borders in response to the virus. The team building session in Rome was canceled. Our departure for Malawi was put on hold until travel would be possible. The four of us assigned to Malawi lived months of uncertainty, unsure if Malawi’s new mission would take off as planned. The pandemic made us realize that while planning is important, we also have to learn from Mary, be open to God’s plan, let go of the plans we have made for ourselves, and live the plans God has for us.

Malawi finally reopened its borders on September 1, 2020. However, there were still a minimal number of flights going there. There were also many questions even after the reopening of the borders. One of which was whether non-residents could enter Malawi. Finally, the Malawian Immigration clarified that non-residents could enter Malawi if they would apply for an electronic visa online. While there were flights from Rome to Malawi via Addis Ababa, there were no flights yet from Jakarta and Manila to Addis Ababa or Lusaka to Lilongwe.  

Given the limited number of flights, it was decided that I should proceed to Karonga, Malawi, and wait there for the other confreres, Nazario Caparanga, Yogkim Kraeng Kirang, and Aubrey Sumbukeni. It was not an ideal situation, but we are not living in normal times.

Before traveling, I had to get a Covid RT-PCR test. Due to the rising number of Covid cases in Italy, the drive-in testing centers were swamped. I had to wait for more than six hours to be tested when I went there on October 8. Then it was nerve-wracking and stressful waiting for the result to be released on time for my trip. The negative results arrived on the evening of October 10, just in time for me to travel. And so, on a wet and rainy night of October 12, with all my documents in order, I left Rome alone from the Casa Generalizia for Malawi. Before leaving, we had some pictures taken in the chapel with a few confreres, Jozef Matton, Jean-Gracia Etienne, Andre De Bleeker, and Jean Kalenga, present in the Casa Generalizia. 

I also had a picture taken next to an image of our Founder, Theophile Verbist, on a Chinese scroll that was presented to the Casa Generalizia by the Christians of Xiwanzi a few years ago. I did not realize the symbolism of the picture that evening. It was only later when the photo was sent to me that I realized that my departure for Malawi was in the same spirit as our Founder’s departure for China. Our Founder’s missionary spirit has extended from China to Malawi, from Xiwanzi to Karonga.

I arrived well in Karonga on October 14 after a long flight via Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Lubumbashi, Congo. After an overnight stay in the capital city, Lilongwe, came an eight-hour journey by road.  

Following Malawian health regulations, I am now in quarantine for fourteen days, living alone in a diocesan house in Karonga. From my experience of more than two months of lockdown in Italy, I knew that the days would fly once you set a routine. So, I made a simple schedule for my days of quarantine. I made sure I could set aside enough time for prayer, self-study of the local language, light physical exercise, meals, rest, cleaning the house, and communications about the new mission. Many confreres, relatives, friends, and benefactors are concerned about me and interested in Malawi’s new mission.

Respectful of quarantine rules, the Bishop and the Vicar General of the diocese called by phone to welcome me. Other people pass by only if they have to bring me food or things requested by me. 

Maybe there is no better way to start a new mission than some time (14 days) of solitude and prayer! Jesus, too, started his public ministry with 40 days of prayer and fasting in isolation in the desert. And Jesus reminded his disciples often that the Reign of God begins without fanfare but quietly like yeast in the dough or a germinating seed hidden in the ground. And so CICM’s new mission in Malawi has begun not quite the way we had planned it but with 14 days of quarantine, solitude, and prayer. 

When will my teammates be able to join me? How long will I be the only CICM in this new mission? What happens if the others are delayed for an even longer time? I can’t answer the many questions that come to mind as I sit in my quarantine house. I will just have to learn to walk by faith and not by meticulous planning. I pray every day that my three teammates will be able to join me soon. In the meantime, God keeps me company. And I believe that God looks after his missionaries, always. ■

In the Chapel of the Casa Generalizia CICM: a moment of prayer and silence before the departure of Peter Koh for the new mission of Malawi (from left to right André de Bleeker, Peter Koh, Jozef Matton, Jean-Gracia)

By Joseph Jin Xiuzhang, cicm

When I was working at the Diocesan Seminary and later at the Spirituality Center as preacher of retreats or lecturer, I had a very narrow view of the pastoral ministry. As I had never had the chance to work in the parish, I used to minimize the pastoral ministry which I considered as an easy job compared to what I was doing in the Seminary.

I regret for having kept long in mind a wrong conception of the pastoral ministry, which brought me sometimes to criticize the priests whose performance in the ministry was not well appreciated by their parishioners.

My misunderstanding of the pastoral ministry was challenged as I got involved in the pastoral work together with our confreres. Indeed, the experience has taught me a lot. Especially after I encountered unexpected difficulties and challenges, I started questioning myself.

 I am Chinese and I was sent to China for mission; but in my own country, I first met with the language limitation problem. In fact, the place I was assigned to is different from my birthplace and I realized that most of the local inhabitants are not able to speak Mandarin, the official language. Of course, I can’t blame them for that. I realized that this is because of their education background. Many people in the District where I am working are not highly educated. Moreover, here people prefer to speak their local dialect instead of the official language (Mandarin).

One day, a lady came to my office in tears, and she shared me her story with emotion. She was complaining about her husband’s violent behavior. I could hardly understand her plea as she was talking with emotion in a language that I did not fully understand. Although I could guess from her emotions what she was trying to say, I was lost and very limited linguistically. My command of the language could have definitely given me more confidence to be of help to her. In trying to be of help, I asked her to speak slowly and clearly, but she just looked at me and continued to talk as before. I felt so sorry for not being able to grasp the meaning, and the more, I was getting frustrated. I told myself that I should listen to her with my heart instead of my ears. That was the most disturbing experience of the language limitation I ever had.

Some days later, another lady approached me and said: “Father Joseph, we do not understand what you are preaching to us.” This was a touching and frank remark. It challenged me to learn and adapt to the local language and realities for the effectiveness of my ministry. With this personal experience, I can imagine and understand what our Founder Theophile Verbist and his companions went through at the very beginning of the CICM Mission in China. Still today, many of our confreres are going through the same experience all over the world.

However, in my pastoral experience in China, aside from the language difficulty, I came across another reality that is also most challenging: the Catholic faith.

Due to various reasons, Christians are not properly practicing their faith, even though they claim that they are baptized. In fact, their religious practice is influenced by the Chinese traditional religions, such as Daoism, Buddhism, and other religious sects.

For instance, in order to avoid bad luck and gain good fortune, many Catholics seek enlightenment from Fengshui Master, who usually provides concrete directions to solve problems. Then, they come to Catholic priests for implementing what they are asked to do by Fengshui Master. They do this without the awareness of the work of a Catholic priest and their own faith. It looks strange to me that people put their faith aside to follow their traditional beliefs in times of great needs.

I think that many priests made efforts to prevent this from happening, but so far they failed. And I understand that this cannot be changed in one or two years: it is a long process to which we need to devote more time for the formation of the youth and the next generations. We can better foster the link between faith and culture / traditions, and help the people accept or overcome their painful experi- ences such as illness, bad luck, accidents and death.

As CICM, the youth’s education is one of our priorities in the pastoral ministry as we hope to bring new understanding of the faith in China. We introduced the Sunday School for the youth, which was never seen in this Diocese before. This became the place where we try to make a significant change to distorted belief and performances. In addition, we initiated the summer and winter camps in the parish for the children and the youth who are willing to participate, and we also encourage others to join. I know that it is not always easy, but we hope that God will help us in this ministry, which I believe is worthy and meaningful. As Saint Paul says, “So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow”(1 Corinthians 3: 7).

Honestly speaking, the most challenging hardship comes from the political environment. Even though it is written in the Constitution that every citizen enjoys the freedom of religion, the Chinese government still regards religions as a threat to the communist regime, particularly, the Christian faith. We have seen that the central government issues orders and regulations to forbid children from participating into religious venues and activities. For them, this is an ideological war between faith and the Chinese communist government power and interest. Just recently, a local religious office issued an order to close Tian’ai Children Center, the center where we take care of children, because it is just located near the prayer house (Church). Obviously, the local government fears that children will be influenced by the Christian faith. Moreover, the Principal of the Primary School where children study threatened anyone remaining at the Children Center to be kicked out. Meanwhile, some teachers keep telling the students that the Catholicism is a heresy, evil organism, superstitious and spiritual opium.

We have nothing to do except to verbally defend ourselves from these false accusations, and strengthen our faith that God is on our side for the good of the children and the society in general. This is the actual situation in China. While facing these difficulties and challenges, we must find another way to carry out our mission since we, CICM missionaries, never give up to preach and sow the seed of faith as our Founder Theophile Verbist did. As we recently commemorated his 150th death anniversary, his words are still resounding in our ears: “For those who love, nothing is impossible.” We count on your prayers and support for the sake of CICM mission in China, and for the wellbeing of the children we serve. (ASIA News Bulletin n°33, MayJune 2018, pp.2-4). ■

By Jan Hoet, cicm

I have been a missionary in Haiti for forty-seven years (1967–2014). My notion of mission has evolved over these forty-seven years. This prompts me to share the following reflections:

Mission is certainly no longer what it used to be for many people at the time of the colonization: to convert pagans or, later, to bring the true faith and development to poor and illiterate people. Somehow, this last vision was still accepted at the time of my training.

Today, I rather want to define a missionary as follows:

A true missionary is someone who behaves like a citizen of the world with a Christian inspiration as foundation. He is a stranger in his home country as well as in the country where he resides as a missionary. He calmly takes note of this situation that does not make him unhappy. Very grateful for being accepted by the members of the society that welcomes him, he tries to be present in this very society in a humble and attentive way.

A true missionary rereads the Gospel in the context of the new country in which he lives, and he is prepared to reread the gospel with the people. He wants to join his new friends in their condition of poverty, exploitation, insecurity and political instability. With them he looks for ways to get out of this situation. He shares the frustration and helplessness of the people and with them he wants to find ways to gain true human dignity.

A true missionary is the spare wheel of the old jeep with which he has to travel. He does not want to be the driver.

This spare wheel is rather invisible. It is the driver who decides on the objective of the trip. The missionary is a passenger on an anguishing road, because the driver is driving recklessly without respecting the traffic rules.

A true missionary wants to free his mind from the idea that he knows everything and that the values that he knows and appreciates are the best. He tries to become a Haitian with the Haitian people, but without losing his own identity. He keeps in mind that he is a foreigner. He sincerely remains himself and gives humbly witness to what inspires him and to the motives of his attitudes and deeds. He wants to be a mirror for those who are different from him so that they may know themselves better and discover their own values and wealth when facing somebody who is different.

The missionary is not a professor lecturing from a pulpit to inculcate knowledge and “truth” in his students. He is rather the student who allows himself to be evangelized by the poor and the little ones of this world.

The missionary is somebody who is happy to celebrate the Eucharist with poor people while allowing himself to be touched by the depth of the messages that they discover in the Bible and the strength they draw from sharing this word and this communion.

Yes, to be a missionary remains an exciting and very valuable challenge.

By Alexandre Kakolo Beya, cicm

I was appointed as the national chaplain of the Kiro Youth Movement in 2003. It’s was a big challenge for me to be in charge of this Catholic Youth Movement founded by a Belgian Missionhurst missionary in Holy Family Parish, Cerca-Carvajal, in the Central part of Haiti. I had to learn not only about my responsibilities as national chaplain, but also about the Kiro Youth Movement itself.

One day, during the celebration of the anniversary of a local Kiro group in Port-au-Prince, the parent of a Kiro member told me: I’m proud of my son because he joined the Kiro Youth Movement. I asked him what Kiro had done for his son. Then he told me that before he had joined Kiro, he used to misbehave and often fought with other kids. But now, after becoming a member of Kiro , he has changed completely: he has become more polite and respectful towards his friends and other people. From that time on, I began to understand the value of the Kiro Youth Movement for children and young people and its influence on Kiro members and other people that they interact with.

In 2006 we held a reflection in view of the preparation and the celebration of the Kiro’s fiftieth anniversary.  We reflected on the impact of the Kiro training, I became more aware of the important role that the Kiro Youth Movement played in the formation of children and young people from all social levels. Several Kiro members and former Kiro members did not hide their satisfaction with the human and Christian values they learned in Kiro. They witnessed how these values helped them to be more responsible in their lives, families, schools, work, etc. This is due to fact that the main goal of the Kiro Youth Movement is to make children and young people live in Christ so that they become good Christians and committed citizens serving their Church and Country. The word “Kiro” refers to the first two letters of the Greek word which were used by the first Christians to refer to Christ (XRISTOS).

How has Kiro helped children and young people? The Kiro Youth Movement is a place where all the children and young people, regardless of their social level, are welcomed and accompanied according to Christian values.

Through all Kiro activities such as weekly meetings, games, themes, annual camps for Kiro members and formation camps for local leaders, they are taught how to live together, to respect each other, to take up their responsibilities in school, their families, and communities. Members must make decisions and choices that help them grow integrally wherever they are, because they are Christ’s followers, Christ soldiers. They live to love and serve, making Jesus Christ the main goal of their life.

Because of the great significance of the Kiro Youth Movement, we gave heart and soul to celebrating its 50th anniversary with a program that stretched out over three years, from 2007 to 2010. In fact, Kiro is a national Youth Movement which is present in all the provinces or dioceses of Haiti... It has over 600 local groups and more than 62,000 members. That’s why in 2005, we elaborated preparatory and celebratory program on the local, regional, diocesan, and national levels to celebrate this great anniversary. We officially launched the celebrations for the 50th anniversary in November 2007 on the Feast of Christ the King, the patron of Kiro members. We organized many activities to reflect on the impact of the formation Kiro offers to children and young people in Haiti, so that we can accompany them better, helping them to deal with their concerns, worries and future projects. We also held many activities to spread the word about the Kiro Youth Movement in the Haitian society.

Through all these activities, we helped the Kiro members to become more involved in service of others through Christ, especially in order to build a just and brotherly society. Everyone has his rights and duties in mutual respect and in searching for the common good. This is very important because in this society, where there are not many good role models, where people are often victims of exploitation and injustice, and where there is poverty, division, corruption, selfish- ness, Kiro training empowers these thousands of children and young people to act responsibly for their human and Christian growth and for the wellbeing of their communities. We understood the need to look for more and better means to accompany these children and youth. That is why we committed ourselves to building a youth training center. The Haitian government, in recognition of our formation work with children and young people, gave us a plot of land on which to build this Center.

The preparation and celebration of Kiro’s golden anniversary met with many obstacles. Between 2008 to 2010, many natural disasters hit Haiti. We will never forget 2008, the year that 4 hurricanes hit the country. Then in 2010, the terrible earthquake on January 12th followed by hurricane Thomas and the cholera epidemic as well. All of these caused considerable damage and many deaths, some of them Kiro members with whom we had been preparing    our celebrations. In all we lost some 70 Kiro members, victims of the January 2010 Earthquake. May their souls rest in peace.

All of these events hit us incredibly hard, and we often asked ourselves if it was really worthwhile carrying on with the preparations. However, along with these terrible events, there were strong moments of solidarity and mutual help. Even if Kiro members were victims of the earthquake, even if they lost their family members, their friends and their houses, they involved themselves, according to their Kiro training, in relief services for the victims of these disasters and in the reconstruction of the country after the earthquake.

In the early hours after the earthquake, when people were crying not knowing what to do, when there was no electricity, no water, no communication, many Kiro members were present to rescue people from collapsed houses, to take injured people to hospitals, to  set up shelters and bring food and water to people who had  lost their houses. Local Kiro groups visited their members and families to encourage them. Kiro members were talking with people, praying with them, and especially playing games to encourage children and young people in the refugees’ camps. 

So, we worked on comforting our suffering brothers and sisters. We said to ourselves: no catastrophe, especially not an earthquake, can destroy our projects. Rather, it gave them new meaning, a new perspective. Therefore, we gave an important place to the victims of all these disasters in the preparation and celebration of Kiro’s 50th Anniversary. The golden jubilee taught us to work together, to unite in order to help the victims of the disasters: cleaning flooded cities, sharing tents, distributing food and water, building shelters, giving psychological assistance, campaigning for the prevention and treatment of cholera. Taking care of the victims of the earthquake and hurricanes became part and parcel of our preparation and celebration.

For the closing celebration on national and diocesan level, we chose the theme “ Kiro, 50 years  in  the  service  of Christ, let’s celebrate it with love” ( Kiwo, 50 an nan sevis Kris la, ann fete l nan renmen). We can work together to make things better despite disasters, the loss of human lives and destruction. That’s why we could also participate with other Youth Movements, in the formation of aa national Council of Haitian Youth. We decided to work together in order to better promote young people’s interests and to contribute as Youth Movements to the well- being of Haitian society.

All the training camps we had planned for the celebration of the golden anniversary of Kiro all over the country, became places where we gathered together local Kiro leaders to help them understand the destructive forces of nature and to teach them what they should do before, during and after such events. In fact, in the more remote areas of the country where there is no media available and many people believe that natural disasters are God’s punishment, Kiro members were instrumental in teaching people in their communities what they had learned about natural disasters and the people’s responsibilities towards the environment and how  to protect themselves from such disasters.

In spite of these disasters, we were able to hold all of our planned activities and to close the golden jubilee celebrations. We built and inaugurated a monument marking the 50th anniversary of Kiro in Cerca- Carvajal, in the central part of Haiti where Kiro Haiti was founded. Members from all around the country gathered to remember Father Joseph Berghmans, the Belgian Missionhurst missionary who founded the Kiro Youth Movement in Haïti and Father Noel Martens, another Belgian Missionhurst missionary who was Kiro’s first national Chaplain.

This inauguration was followed by a national congress from November 11 to 14 where we started reflecting on the next 50 years of Kiro. During the congress there were several activities, such as a National Kiro Fair. On November 21, 2010, the day of the golden jubilee and the Feast of Christ the King, there were several diocesan socio-cultural and religious activities to mark the end of these celebrations that had lasted, including the preparations, almost five years.

I would like to close with an enormous «Thank You» to everyone, to all the organizations and institutions that have helped us to realize and celebrate Kiro  Haiti’s golden jubilee, especially Missionhurst promotion with all its benefactors. Thank you too, to all the Kiro members who gave their best despite the hard times, for holding Kiro Haiti’s torch high.

The celebration is over, but the work continues. We still believe strongly in the necessity of accompanying children and young people according to Christian values. It’s one of the best ways to make them responsible for themselves and for the society in which they are living in and in which they are called to take up their responsibilities at all levels. With Kiro training and Christ’s Gospel, they will be able to face this challenging world with its difficulties and its promises.

By Jos Das, cicm

By Jessie M. Hechanova, cicm