Every 1st August, Mother Church celebrates the memory of Saint Alphonsus Marie de Liguori (bishop and doctor of the church). The special feature of this year's celebration was the opening of the Period of Preparation for Perpetual Profession (P4) in Brazzaville.
Presided over by the Reverend Father Jean De Dieu Passy, Regional Superior of the Cardinal Emile Biayenda Region (Congo Brazzaville), this mass, which began at 6.00 pm, was marked by the presence, in terms of quality and quantity, of other religious men and women working and present in Brazzaville, as well as by the presence of a number of Christian friends of the Barrage community.
The Reverend Father Jean Jacques Nkodia, director of P4, has the task of accompanying eight scholastics this year for a period of 3 months. Four come from Mozambique: Brothers Manhique Adérito Carlos, Dos Santos Terenciano, Pedro Onavio Silvério and Nacua Timoteo Francisco; two from Congo Brazzaville: Brothers Beaudelaire Chevignon Benazo and Christ Gabriel Ouadiabantou; one from the DRC: Brother Mwela Esiko Esaïe, and another from Senegal: Brother Malick Sene.
The Regional Superior, in his homily he articulated the meaning of this period. This time, he said in substance, is very precious and has an inestimable and inappreciable value, because: "after the courses, the journey begins". This phrase, which he repeated frequently, is the sign of a new phase in daily life. The P4 is therefore a time offered to the confreres to revisit the values of religious life; to immerse themselves in the greatness of our sss identity; to reappropriate the various benefits of fraternal life and service.
Yes, we can say without hesitation that it was a very rich moment of effective and emotional fraternity. It was a time of sharing and communion, manifested in the celebration of the Eucharist and the meal that followed in the courtyard of the postulancy community (Barrage).
In view of all the above, we can only wish our scholastic confreres involved in the P4 well, and entrust them to the maternity of Mary, Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament. These were the words of blessing pronounced in favour of the eight.
Brazzaville, 1st August 2024
Father Divin Maboundou Ngongo sss
Regional Secretary
