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Bamako (Agenzia Fides) – Several events continue to enliven the activities of Saint Monica Parish in Bamako, which recently celebrated a significant milestone of the 25th anniversary of its foundation.
The Jubilee was inaugurated on December 29, 2024, and will end on August 31, 2025. The parish community gathered from March 21 to 23 for a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Mali in Kita, where every November, Malians of all faiths make a national Marian pilgrimage (see Fides, 23/11/2024).
This March edition was led by the parish priest of Saint Monica, Father Marcelin Diarra, accompanied by Archbishop Robert Cissé, who, along with some of his priests, presided over the closing Mass. These two days were marked by confessions, adoration, processions to the Marian hill, the recitation of the Rosary, and lectures on various topics, including: "History and Perspectives on the 10th Anniversary of the Parish of Saint Monica," "Religion and Citizenship," and "In the Footsteps of Christ, let us go out into the Abyss with Saint Monica, model of holiness."
The parish of Saint Monica is the largest in the archdiocese.
"It is easy to see how much things have changed since the founding of our parish," Father Marcellin emphasized in his speech. "We now have 42 communities, 32 of which are confirmed. They cover 28 neighborhoods of Bamako and some rural areas. The parish is so large that it is urgent to divide it into four pastoral zones with a view to creating new parishes and for a pastoral care of proximity."
The parish priest highlighted the parish's strengths, its weaknesses, such as the lack of missionary initiatives, as well as its prospects for the future. It is a very vibrant community led by committed faithful.
During the solemn closing Mass of the pilgrimage, Archbishop Cissé, based on the liturgical texts, invited the faithful to conversion and to live in hope, especially in this Jubilee year. "The future depends on us. Prayer, almsgiving, and fasting are the fertilizers of our Christian life. Let us draw inspiration from Saint Monica so that we can change our own and, through it, that of the world." (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 7/4/2025)
