Diocese of Goré: she is the first Sister of Perpetual Vows in the diocese!
A wonderful event: “Our life is a loving response to the Lord!”.
It was an immense joy to experience the perpetual consecration of Sister Florence R., and the reception of three new priests for the diocese.
The Sisters of Charity participated in great numbers. The entire Provincial Council of Central Africa, together with novices, postulants and aspirants, greatly increased the number of sisters present. A joyous family reunion marked the start of the celebrations.
Essentially, perpetual consecration symbolises the definitive commitment of men and women religious, who consecrate themselves to God within their religious family. The solemn consecration commits them to follow and live the evangelical counsels of poverty, chastity and obedience and service to the poor for the whole of their lives, to live in conformity with the Gospel and to bear witness to it.
Mgr Pio Mario Ramolo, bishop of the diocese, of the Capuchin Fathers, who presided over the celebration, emphasised in his homily that God, in his great tenderness, looks men and women in the eyes, loves them and then chooses them. This is how we can describe Sister Florence’s choice: a choice of love that naturally brings joy, but also all the responsibility and commitment that comes with it.
The Bishop then briefly explained the evangelical counsels, meaning that promising obedience means freely accepting to carry out God’s plan without forgetting the difficulties that may arise. The vow of poverty, for its part, invites us to free ourselves from the thirst for possessions, from the slavery of money, riches and security, in short, from everything that seems to make the God for whom we have renounced everything and whom we want to follow seem secondary. Ultimately, the vow of chastity is to choose the Kingdom, to be free in the service of one’s brothers and sisters. It means freeing oneself from one’s own exclusive love and filling oneself with God’s love, to share in his fruitfulness.
In her words of thanks, Sister Florence paraphrased Sister Jeanne Antida, saying that when God calls and we listen, he provides us with everything we need, reminding us that religious life is a gift from God, a mystery to be understood.
In short, we remain in the faith, trusting in God and his Church.
Sister Rachel N.
The beginning of the evangelisation of Goré dates back to 1939 by the Spiritan Fathers first and then by the Capuchins of Toulouse, who came and went from the Central African Republic with the means of the time. In 1942, the first straw chapel was built by the catechist Ernest Ndokia together with the few Christians born of his teaching and especially his example. In 1966, the first missionary, Brother Pierre settled permanently in Goré, also engaging in vocational animation.
With the passing of time, the need for the presence of Sisters who would take special care of the health sector and the animation of girls, women and children became acute. After knocking on many doors, on 3 December 1971, the Mother General of the Sisters of Charity brought the first three sisters to Goré: sister Carmela, sister Anna Maria and sister Teresa, who were soon joined by sister Maria Paola.
The diocese today has an area of 6,048 square kilometres with a population of about 54,530 inhabitants, 5,000 of whom live in the town and the others scattered in 154 villages, dedicated to agriculture and fishing for family consumption. For the cultural education of children and young people in the town and its surroundings, there are three full-cycle primary schools and one boarding school (high school), opened in 1980.
For pre-school children, nursery schools have been opened by the mission with local teachers, whose training and further education is provided by one of the local Sisters of Charity.
Health care is provided by a state dispensary, almost always lacking in medicines; a gap filled by our mission’s dispensary, run by the Sisters, assisted by young people trained by them. There is also a post office, which functions regularly in normal times.
