THE NEW SOMASCAN SPRING IN NIGERIA by Bro. Antonio Galli, CRS

NIGERIA: NEW SOMASCAN SPRING

I have just come back from a few-days visit to Nigeria. I went there with Don Tobias, a confrere of ours from that region, to provide for the preparation of the future religious house. I have to right away state that there is a direction from above that continuously is leading us and strongly wishes our presence in that African country.

During my staying I had the opportunity to confirm again my sympathy for the Nigerian Church rooted in traditions and characteristics we do not have any longer: everything stops at the toll of the bell for the Angelus in the morning, noon, and evening; the churches are full of faithful for the afternoon Vespers on Sundays; Eucharistic adoration; reciting of the Rosary. I have seen Christian lay-people so committed to working in the Parish on Sunday that they work until mid-afternoon without going back to their homes for lunch…

What struck me the most was their generosity in giving to the church, the priests, and the people who do not have anything. In a parish, I have seen, on Sunday, even six collections in the same Mass and the people go to the altar to joyfully give their donations.

To the Somascans it will be entrusted a parish with ten secondary chapels, with generous faithful who have toiled with zeal to build their church – which has to be still completed – and the house where we will live in: it is a large building where our seminarians, and eventually a Novitiate, can be hosted, with a huge piece of land that could be used for possible future works.

In the parish territory there are two universities where we should minister as campus ministers. Just in these two days two young students came to ask to join our Congregation.

During my staying, we met our seminarians who were concluding their Easter vacations. They are more than twenty youngsters, almost all of them with degrees, who are studying theology and philosophy. It has been a wonderful meeting. They talked among themselves first. Then they asked questions about the Congregation, especially they wanted to eagerly know about the apostolate. It was a real surprise for me to hear from these youngsters details about St. Jerome that probably not everybody knows. I noticed that they know many prayers of our Saint. One of them has sung a song about Emiliani composed by him. Their joy reached fever pitch when we let them know that in the next few months there will be a stable Somascan community there.

Another beautiful experience was to participate in the prayer groups of St. Jerome: they have been led by our seminarians last summer and nobody thought that they could continue without their presence; on the contrary, they are alive and in full operation: they are meetings in which people draw inspiration from the life of our Saint. Even this is for me a sign that Someone from above wishes that we commit to this country.

I am sure that this is our future and here is our hope for the spreading of “the Somascan church in the world.” I noticed great joy and vitality in the eyes of those who think of and look at St. Jerome in Africa!

Bro. Antonio GALLI crs