DR Congo: LAY ACTIVISM – an essential feature of one of the liveliest Churches in Africa
The Democratic Republic of the Congo has one of the liveliest Churches in Africa, with 4,602 priests ministering in 1,500 parishes and 11,000 religious supporting their pastoral and social work. However, besides the clergy, an important feature of the local Church is lay activism. Many catechists and lay persons bear witness to their faith in the political, economic and cultural fields.
The key to achieving a vibrant Church is through formation, which begins at an early age in the DRC. The Church plays a prominent role in providing education and preventing young people from becoming involved in gang violence and the several militias fighting in conflict areas.
“Giving children the opportunity to hear God speak at an early age is among the best gifts we can give them,” says Fr. Xene Sanchez, project partner of the international foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), director of Verbum Bible, a religious book publisher based in Kinshasa.
Thanks to the generosity of our benefactors, we are supporting the Diocese of Kinshasa with 10.000 copies of the Child´s Bible God Speaks to his children and 10.000 copies of the booklet Children Praying the Rosary. Fr. Sanchez explains that the devotion of the locals to the Virgin Mary is fervent. “We encourage our children in their devotion by teaching them to pray the rosary.”
Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, of Kinshasa, strongly supports this project and believes that its implementation “will allow the children of dioceses of the DRC to acquire a solid base for their spiritual life.”
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