Mambongwe

The Mambongwe village is more than a two-hour drive from the Mboma village. When we arrived in Mboma from Nawinda, after several hours of driving, the animator Petar told us that there is a village in which the people would like to convert to Catholicism and that they want the father to visit them. Without a second thought, we got in the car and continued driving for another two hours to Mambongwe. I have never encountered such squalor, misery or poverty anywhere. They truly have nothing! The children saw a white man for the first time, they kept repeating “mukuwa” – my companions told me that this means “white man”. They gathered under a tree and gave their reasons for wanting to convert to Catholicism. Catechist Thomas explained to them what this meant and what further steps would be taken. Thus, under a tree in Africa, a Catholic community was established. The village was named as my parish since I am the first Catholic priest to have visited it. In Zambia, I have encountered a poor and humble Church, which does not administrate but evangelizes, which does not rule but serves, a Church not interested in political influence and power. I can truly say that this is a Church that uses the methodology from the times of the apostles in its proclamations, which is why I believe that the future of the Catholic Church is in Africa.