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Celebrating 20 Years Of ME in the Congo

Fr. Mario Barbero

Dear Lee and Jan, Greetings from Kinshasa.

I am fine and God willing we'll be in Johannesburg in October.

We just celebrated our 20th anniversary and I send you a short report of the celebration that was made more "solemn" by the participation of Mario and Annamaria who brought us gift: a large poster Mario had created for the 10th anniversary of ME in Turin and that we translated into French. It was very good.

My love and prayer to you and Fr. Rich.
God bless.
Fr. Mario

Twenty Years of MR in R.D. Congo A large and colorful poster dominated the wall of the Lycee Kimwenza: “20 Ans de Mariage Rencontre (MR) au Congo-Kinshasa; Nous sommes en train de changer le monde” (Twenty Years of ME in Congo-Kinshasa - We are Changing the World). These words were written over two globes: one showing the scattered continents, and the other reflecting the shape of a big heart. The scene on the poster set the sharing and commemorative tone of this large gathering of ME couples and their children who came to celebrate the 20th anniversary of ME in Congo. The presence of my great friends, Mario and Annamaria Tenna from Italy, lent an additional “international flavor” to the celebration.

The theme of our celebration was “Assessing 20 Years of ME in Congo and Looking Towards the Future.” At the opening of the celebration, several messages -- from the World Council team, and the Panaf Team, the ME from Belgium and Italy -- were read as they all congratulated the MR Congo for their 20 years. All the Congolese teams who had been in charge of the ME community during these past 20 years were given the opportunity to share their experience, recalling the ups and downs of ME within the troubled history of Congo.

Two of the speakers, Arsene and Fortunat, are now widowers having lost their wives, yet their sharing was very touching as they recalled the impact ME had on their lives and on their families. Mario and Annamaria's sharing about their experience as team couple and the activity of ME in Italy was a high point of the morning as the participants experienced a deeper awareness that ME was truly “worldwide.” After honoring the past, the team in charge, Alphonse and Honorine Tshiananga along with Fr. Mario Barbero took the opportunity to remind the participants of the huge task ahead: to revive the ME community in Kinshasa, and to reach out to other parts of R.D. Congo, especially now that the recently established transition government had started reuniting the country after several years of war. The fact that there was present a group of seven couples, a sister, and a priest from Kisantu (a diocese neighboring Kinshasa) indicated that it was indeed possible to reach out beyond Kinshasa.

Over two hundred people (220 precisely, the largest gathering of ME people in many many years in Kinshasa) attended the celebration. For the occasion, 200 T-shirts were printed up (with the help of the Torino ME community) with the ME logo, and many participants not only eagerly bought the T-shirts, but put them on immediately.

After the presentations, Mass was celebrated by Fr. Mario and con-celebrated by both the pastor of the parish of Kimwenza and a priest from Kisantu diocese.

The choir and the music were beautiful, culminating in a complete, joyful, and prayerful celebration. After Mass, the families peacefully gathered in small groups of two and three, and shared a picnic with each other. It was good to see many teenagers and children also wearing their MR t-shirts and socializing with their friends.

In Kinshasa, as in everywhere, ME affects the families, and not only the couples. Many couples who had not been very involved in ME came to the celebration and reconnected with the movement, not only expressing their desire to see ME grow but also renewing their commitment so that the gift of ME might touch many other Congolese families. This is our hope and our prayer.

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