FROM KHARTOUM SUDAN

Permit to build a Church
In North Sudan
A sign of the times,
a sign of hope and peace

It was exactly on the 7th December 2006, on the eve of the Immaculate Conception, when the permit to build a church in the North was granted to the Catholic Church in the Archdiocese of Khartoum. That day, we were having our community day of reflection in the Coptic monastery near the parish of St Stephen, when Felix was urgently called to receive this Good News for the Church from the authorities.

It seems that the last permit to build a Church in the Archdiocese - in North Sudan - was in 1967; it was for the church of St Peter and Paul in the residential town centre. For us on our day, a good number of faithful got news of it and spontaneously came to dance, rejoice and sing, while the land agents were marking out the church plot, 35 metres by 50 metres. It was a great joy and a big relief for us all, since from December 2001, we were running here and there to acquire a plot. It took us a good five years of going up and down to achieve this result. Nevertheless, it took almost forty years for the government of Sudan to grant a plot to the Church in North Sudan – Khartoum Archdiocese.

Is this a sign of the times? We hope and pray that this sign may be the sign of peace – a sign of hope, and freedom of religion, a sign of belonging to one country for all the Sudanese in the Sudan of today. We thank the Lord who does everything in due course. We are happy and not alone, because two other Churches have received the same good news to build their church in Khartoum. For some time, we all tried to make this dream of the Sudanese faithful become a reality. Moreover, to celebrate this good news, we had the first Mass on the church plot on the 26th December last year, St Stephen’s Day, the Patronal Feast of the parish. Cardinal Zubeir Wako Archbishop of Khartoum, was the main celebrant at the Mass.

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The building permit was granted on 26 December 2006. In 2007, the walls around the grounds
were raised, waiting for a church to be built. Left, a Youth meeting in Shigla Hall,
a Hajj Youssif outstation.

Soon after the function, barbed wire was fixed on the wall and the gates of the church to secure the building materials. In this year of 2008, we will start building the church. Thanks to everyone for their help and contributions for it. May this year bring peace and joy to all and success in all they do. We want to draw the attention of the parishioners that this church is theirs and have built it with everyone’s support.

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1 . Youth Day. Solemn liturgy with Félix Sompougdou, (from Bukina Faso) Parish Priest
and Emmanuel Vabié Trédou (from Côte d’Ivoire), Curate.
2 . Abp. Leo Boccardi, Apostolic Nuncio in Sudan visiting Hajj Youssif and ‘well ensconced’ by Augustin Sawadogo, Burkinabe, MAfr stagiaire and James Wani (Sudanese) now doing the Spiritual Year
in Kasama.

As Missionaries of Africa, our hope is to continue to participate in the growth of the Church here and contribute our small donation to the building up of the Church in Sudan, with its new challenges and sacrifices. Like everywhere else, and especially here, the apostolate is as vast and diverse as the country is huge, multicultural and multi-religious.

Everyone can find plenty to do for the Kingdom of God in Sudan, a Kingdom without end. Amen.

Emmanuel Vabié Trédou