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Drinking water project: This is mainly aimed at making available “Drinking
Water” for all the villages and to prevent deadly
diseases like Malaria, typhoid, diarrhea, jaundice
etc. This project has helped to save so many lives in
ours missions of Doba and Béro. A total of 6 bore
wells and 3 open wells in Doba, 5 open wells in Béro
(Chad) were dug to provide potable water to the
people entrusted to our care.
School at Doba: At Doba (Chad) we have obtained a good piece of
land, where soon we intent to construct a school,
boys’ home and a community house. We hope to
start the construction by February 2017. In this
regard Fr. Sen Vellakada MSFS has founded a
society named - Agape Austria to support our mis-
sionary endeavors in Chad-Cameroon.
School at Ngaoundéré: SFS School at Ngaoundéré is on full swing. In this
academic year a total of 92 new students were
enrolled, making the total strength of the school into
205 students in 5 classes. Though the demand for
admission is very high, we are not able to admit
more students due to lack of infrastructural facility.
Construction of more class rooms are envisaged for
the coming year.
We the missionaries of St. Francis de Sales extend
warmest Christmas Greetings to you, may we pray
and hope that the choicest blessings of Baby Jesus
touch all our lives and our Communities. May the
Lord accompany each of us in our journey in 2017,
so that we may walk in His Light.
You could walk with us in our missionary journey
by;
Praying for the mission,
Offering Mass intentions
Sponsoring a seminarian(s),
Sponsoring an orphan child (children) in his/her
studies,
Supporting a development project of the mission.
Our sincere thanks to each of you,
for all the financial, spiritual and
material support that you are
rendering to the Mission.
Rev. Fr. Manoj Arackal MSFS Mission Superior (Chad-Cameroon)
M y dear Confreres & friends of the Fransalians,
Fraternal greetings of love and good wishes from the
Missionaries of Saint Francis de Sales working in
Chad-Cameroon Mission.
We have already entered into yet another Christmas
Season. In preparation for Christmas, we look back at
the ‘Year of Mercy’ and see God’s Mercy and
compassion running through our lives and activities,
which helps us to examine our life and ministry. We
were worthy instruments of God’s mercy and
compassion by helping to build, strengthen and
support in our respective areas of ministry. During
this Christmas Season, Frontier Fransalians-2016 wish
to express deep sentiments of gratitude to all of you,
who have been by our side to accomplish this wonder-
ful mission among our people in Cameroon and Chad.
MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!
"The People who walked in darkness have seen a
great light…” (Isaiah 9:2). These prophetic words of
Isaiah became a reality in the person of Jesus.
Ironically the good news of Christmas this season,
wears a gloomy look at the background of financial
crisis in Chad political disturbances in Cameroon.
Many have been struggling with the bad economic
conditions, trying to make both ends meet to keep
home and family together. Due to fall in the price of
petroleum products the economy of Chad is
struggling to survive. The little money that the
country had was spent for the presidential election
and the enthronement of the president. For the last
few months except the army no government officials
are paid their salary. As a result, there is continued
strike in all the vital departments (government
hospitals, schools and even the courts) of the society.
To explain the situation with an example - many
prisoners are set free because government is no more
able to assure even one meal per day in the prisons!!!
Despite the adverse moments, we witnessed God’s
continued support this year for the growth of our
mission. Minor Seminary at Ngaoundéré which was
a long cherished dream of the mission is almost be-
coming a reality. The extension of the Mother house
at La Feuillette (a multi-purpose house) is under con-
struction. Through the Distant Adoption Program
we are able to manure the dreams of many students.
Some of the other major activities of the mission
apart from pastoral ministry are the following:
EDITORIAL
FRONTIER FRANSALIANS 2 5 D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 6 V O L . X V I I S S U E I I I
Missionaries o f Saint Francis de Sales (Chad –Cameroon Mission)
SNIPPETS
A walk of Faith 2
A feather in the
cap of MSFS
2
Harvest aplenty 3
Extension of La
Feuillette
3
A petit séjour in
France
4
Wells of living
water
4
Never more to
ROAM
5
Inauguration of
minor seminary
5
“Nothing is so strong
as Gentleness, noth-
ing so gentle as real
strength.
…Never be in a hur-
ry; do everything qui-
etly and in a calm
spirit. Do not loose
your inner peace for
anything whatsoever,
even if your whole
world seems upset”
- SFS
P A G E 2
Faithful mounting
the hilltop of Marian
Sactuary
A Feather in the cap of MSFS at Yaoundé!
A Walk of FAITH… R esponding to the call of Pope Francis to
undertake ‘pilgrimages’ in the year of Mercy, the parishioners of St. Daniel Comboni – Doba, went on a pilgrimage to Marian Pilgrimage Center at Bebo, under the leadership of the parish priest Fr. Robin Thonikuzhiyil on 5 Octo-ber 2016. The shrine is situated 45 kms from the parish. The pilgrimage was kick started with special prayers and benediction at the parish Church and the faithful all together, at around 15:00 hrs, headed towards Bebungay (pilgrimage on ‘foot’ begins here), on different vehicles singing praises to God. Reaching Bebungay, we started our pilgrimage on foot towards the destination. Along the 10 kilometers stretch, we devotedly prayed the Stations of the Cross, Rosary and a lot of hymns of praises. We reached Bebo at around 19:00 hrs. After a short break the faithful were prepared for the sacra-ment of reconciliation followed by Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Confession. It was followed by screening of a documentary on the ‘apparition of Blessed Virgin Mary in Rwanda’.
A brief explanation was given over the docu-mentary and the day’s activities came to a close with night prayers. The day-break witnessed morning prayers and Fr. Anakle SDB – a Rwandan Salesian priest, who is an eye witness to the apparition – gave a talk on Marian Appa-ritions and importance of devotion to Mary. It was a very lively interactive session, which awakened the faith of the faithful. Immediately after the talk, the faithful took a walk around the pilgrimage center, climbing the beautiful rocks. It was followed by Solemn Eucharistic Celebration. With solemn blessing and having savored the Lord at different moments, the faithful returned home with the Joy of the Lord.
held under a make-shift shed and the priests stayed in a rented house. As the years passed by the catholic population in the area swelled up growing in number and the necessity for a permanent presence was a felt-need. Thus began the construction of the Church and the presbytery. Today the external Church structure is nearing its completion. The progress is on a slow move due to financial crunch. But, once complete, the Church would stand tall as one of the most beautiful Churches in whole of Cameroon. And surely MSFS could be proud of its contribution to the local Church in the form of a praying faithful and a beautiful Church. The Mission is grateful to Fr. Joshy and all those priests and God-loving faithful, who supported and support this Church project at Ekkoundum.
S te. Josephine Bakhita Parish, Ekkoundum is
one of the newly carved out parish entrusted to the pastoral care of the MSFS in 2004. It is also one of the most coveted, city parishes in the diocese of Yaoundé today. The parish is situated a few kilometers away from the heart of Yaoundé, which comprises of more than 2,500 settled catholic families and a lot more of floating population in the form of students and government employees. Fr.
Joshy Nellimalamattam has been serving as the Parish Priest, since its inception. In the initial years, the Holy Eucharist was
St. Josephine Bakhita
Church, Ekkoundum
F R O N T I E R F R A N S A L I A N S
Harvest aplenty! P A G E 3 V O L . X V I I S S U E I I I
M ission command of Jesus – “Harvest is plentiful, but
laborers are few”, is very much alive in the continent of
Africa, and more especially in the Republic of Chad. St. Daniel
Comboni Parish, Doba is a living witness to this reality. Infant
baptisms are rare and adult baptism is encouraged in whole of Chad.
The catechumens undergo 3 years of rigorous, continual catechism
classes and 1 year of spiritual accompaniment, after which they would be
allowed to receive the Sacrament of Baptism and accepted as members of the
Church.
The liturgical rite of the ‘entry of catechumen’, was organized on 3 different
dates at the parish and 2 other sectors on the 7, 15 and 16 October 2016
respectively. The liturgy was animated by Fr. Robin Thonikuzhuyil and was
assisted by Fr. Sujith John Pallassery. A total of 412 catechumens have
enrolled themselves and were officially received by the liturgy of the rite of
‘entry of catechumen’. Thus there are more than 1,300 catechumens in 4
batches, waiting to receive the sacrament of initiation (Baptism) in St. Daniel
Comboni Parish, Doba. In other words, Chad is ‘Ore of faith’, waiting to be
unearthed. To this plentiful harvest field, we pray to the Lord of the harvest,
for laborers.
self-contained rooms are envisaged, which would serve as a
multi-purpose house. Already 3 floors of construction have
been completed. Soon roofing would be done and at the
opportune time, the house would be ready for use, depending
on the availability of finance. The Mission is grateful for all the
benefactors, whose generous contribution helps the mission
grow.
G rowth of a mission is measured with the help of
many parameters. Infra-structural development is
one such necessary one. Many have raised eye brows,
looking at the pace at which Chad-Cameroon Mission is
growing. This year in particular, the mission was able to
initiate quite a few building projects (SFS School –
Ngaoundéré, SFS Seminary- Ngaoundéré, Extension of
La Feuillette). These speaks volumes about the growth
of the Mission.
In remembrance of the very first house of the
congregation, the house at Ngoya (Yaoundé) bears the
name La Feuillette. Thus La Feuillette is the mother
House of the Mission. It has been a multipurpose house
in every sense. It serves as a formation house of the
postulants and theologians, transit house for
missionaries coming from India, office of the Mission
Superior, presbytery of the parish priests of Ekekam and
Ebang etc. As the number of the postulants and
theologians grew, an extension became a necessity.
Thus responding to the need of the time, the mission
decided upon the extension of La Feuillette. The
construction a new house is under-way. A total of 42
Catechumens
gathered for
the rite of
‘entry of
Catechumen’
Extension of La Feuillette
La Feuillette
extension under
construction
F R O N T I E R F R A N S A L I A N S
P A G E 4
Fr. Emile Amougou
with confreres of
Franco-Swiss Province
Wells of Living Water!
W ater is elixir of life! This age-old saying holds true always. Clean, potable water is a sign
of life and vitality. In many parts of Africa clean, drinking water is scarce. In Chad
particular, many die due to unhygienic and contaminated water, which results in sickness such
as Malaria, typhoid, diarrhea, jaundice etc. To address this water menace, Fransalians have
come forward with a ‘Water-Project’, with the help of Fr. Thomas Cherukat, parishion-
ers of St. Don Bosco Parish (Bons-en-Chablais, Annecy) under the leadership of Fr.
Martin Richard at and the parishioners of Christ the King (Petit – Lancy,
Geneva) under the leadership of Fr. Binoy KC.
A total of 6 bore wells and 3 open wells in Doba, 5 open wells in
Béro were dug in the recent past. They are community wells,
placed almost at the center of a village. The management of the
wells are entrusted to the responsible members of the village, who keep
it locked during odd hours, to avoid miscreants mismanaging and spoiling
it. The villagers are very grateful for such a kind ‘Good-Samaritan act’ done by the
Fransalians, who otherwise were forced to use the contaminated water or had to walk
miles to fetch good potable water. Seeing this, many neighboring villagers come to us request-
ing the repeat-act in their villages. We wish to do so in the future, with the help of willing
benefactors.
F R O N T I E R F R A N S A L I A N S
C ollaboration in mission is always a welcome sign of
growth and communion. Franco-Swiss Province
and Chad-Cameroon Mission works in close collabora-
tion on many fronts. One such collaboration is ex-
pressed in the form of ‘Summer Ministry’ of the
confreres of the mission in France. This summer, two
of the confreres Frs. Bipin Kishore and Emile
Amougou were welcomed by the Mother Province for
summer ministry. Fr. Emile shares his experience…
My stay at St. Martin-Bellevue Parish community in
Haute-Savoy region was a memorable one. It also
helped me to visit many places of ‘Salesian-interest’
and celebrate Holy Mass in some of these holy places,
where St. Francis de sales lived and served the people of
God. I was fortunate enough to visit the Crypt of Serv-
ant of God Fr. Peter Marie Mermier at the Basilica of
the Visitation at Annecy.
At St. Francis de Sales Church, where I exercised my
pastoral ministry, I had an enriching experience. I
witnessed everywhere signs of the glory of God guiding
the history of our congregation. The collaboration
between the priests and the laity was excellent.
Moreover, I could feel a sign hope in the dynamic
participation of the youth in some of the parish activi-
ties. Visiting our confreres in their respective places of
A Petit Séjour in France… ministry and sharing the joy of community
life was unforgettable. So many confreres
carry the mission of Chad-Cameroon in their
hearts and dream and wish a bright future
for the Mission.
Thanks to Fr. Yves Carron (Provincial
Superior) for lots of love shown, heartfelt
thanks to all the confreres of Franco-Swiss
Province for the interest shown towards the
development of African Mission, and a special
thanks to Fr. Viju and parish Community of
St. Francis de Sales Parish, for the warm
welcome extended towards me and stretch-
ing your goodness in helping SFS School at
Ngaoundéré in many ways.
Let our collaboration continue in serving
God’s people and live in union under the
shadow of Fransalian Charity. Live Jesus!
Villagers using the open well
situated at Béro
Never more to ROAM…
P A G E 5 V O L . X V I I S S U E I I I
A frica is a cradle of evangelization. Direct evangeliza-
tion is very much active, alive and possible in the
continent. Republic of Chad is a living witness to this
reality. Every year thousands of believers join the Church.
But the new-comers bring with them possible dangers of
pagan practices or the so-called traditional practices. The
Church leaders have made extensive studies over the
so-called traditional practices and have imported some of
the positive elements of the tradition and have condemned
many outdated, evil practices. One such tradition is
‘Initiation (for men) and excision (for women). Initiation/
excision is antiquated, raw, traditional practice, wherein
boys and girls, who have reached the age of
maturity are send into the forest for a period
ranging from 2-3 months, to be trained and
initiated into the tradition by a group of aged
men/women. Ideologically though it sounds good,
in practice it involves cruel ways of training,
outdated, animistic and pagan style of initiation,
to which the local Church has always raised
objection. At the Church-level punishments were
sanctioned to the guilty.
Two days of recollection was arranged at the
parish level at Ste. Joseph Bakhita Parish, Béro,
wherein the dangers and evils of the traditional
styles of initiation was explained to the people.
On the following day during the solemn
Eucharistic celebration, a special rite of
re-admittance of the faithful was organized and
were received back into the Church. A total of
500+ faithful re-professed their allegiance to
Catholic Church.
It was day of joy and rejoicing for the parish and
for the mission.
Profession of faith by the faithful
Venue: Ngaoundéré
Date : 9 February 2017
Blessing : Msgr. Emmanuel Abbo (Bishop of Ngaoundéré Diocese)
Inauguration: Rev. Fr. Benny Kootanal (Provincial of SWI Province)
Grateful to : Rev. Fr. James Mankackal MSFS
1,2,3… All set for Inauguration
F R O N T I E R F R A N S A L I A N S
Minor Seminary at Ngaoundéré, Cameroon
Hearty welcome to Rev. Fr. Benny Kootanal (Provincial Superior of South-West India Province),
Fr. Joy Vazhapally (Councilor) and Fr. Vinod Kannattu (Provincial Bursar) to Chad-Cameroon
Mission, for the Canonical Visitation of the Mission from 1 - 14 February, 2017
Hearty Welcome
Publisher : Fr. Manoj Xavier Arackal MSFS
Editor : Fr. Sujith John MSFS
E-design : Fr. Robin MSFS
Translation to French : Bro. Senghor MSFS
Contact: [email protected]/[email protected]
Leaving footprints of Love…
F r. Thomas Moongamackal came into the Chad-Cameroon mission like a surprise package, after having rendered service in Austria and Germany for 17 long years. Willingly he took up the
responsibility of being the Shepherd of the Sts. Peter and Paul University Parish students (It is a parish, which caters to the spiritual needs of more than 3,000 catholic students of University of Buea). Being a multi-talented pastor, he won the hearts of all his sheep. After almost 4 years of pastoral service, he returns to India. On this occasion Chad-Cameroon Mission thanks Fr. Thomas for all the services rendered and wishes God’s abundant blessings on Him. Merci Beaucoup & Bonne Chance!