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Luanda, 10 August, 2023 / 9:55 PM
Members of St Norbert's Parish in Paoli, PA near Philadelphia in the United States of America have donated two ciboria to St. John Calabria Parish of the Catholic Archdiocese of Luanda in Angola that was desecrated when bandits attacked the church on July 10.
The items were handed to the Parish Priest of the Angolan church, Fr. Hilario Dumba on behalf of St. Norbert Parish by Captain Joe Sacchetti, who learnt about the desecration from a publication by ACI Africa.
“Thousands of communities read the story about the theft and desecration and did nothing, nor offered words,” Fr. Dumba told ACI Africa when he received the Church items on August 5, and added, “One community read that story and took action from the other side of the world.”
“In all my years as a Priest of the Poor Servants of Divine Providence, I could never have imagined this generosity,” the Angolan Catholic Priest said.
On July 10, bandits attacked the Angolan Parish making away with two Ciboria after accessing the Tabernacle.
Addressing journalists on July 13, Fr. Lino Aguiar explained the events of July 10, saying, “Our Parish was broken into by some unidentified criminals who desecrated the Church, opened the Tabernacle and removed the hosts, threw them on the floor, and then took two Ciboria.”
The member of the Congregation of the Poor Servants of Divine Providence (PSDP) added that they only came to know about the desecration when they went to the church for morning Mass.
In an interview with ACI Africa after the donation, Captain Sacchetti said, “I learned of the robbery from an article I read on ACI Africa. It didn't take long for the parishioners at St. Norberts to come together and buy 2 beautiful new ciboria.”
“We've inscribed Populus Sancti Ioannis Calabriae et Sancti Norberti corpus unum sunt (the people of St John Calabria and St Norberts are one body) to honor both the function of the ciboria and also the unity of your friends in the USA together with your parishioners as one global church,” he added.
He continued, “The people of the churches of St. John of Calabria and St. Norbert are one body.”
“The beautiful symbolism proclaims a new and precious home for the body of Christ and the unity of one people, both from the United States and Africa,” Captain Sacchetti said.
Credit: ACI Africa
Masses are being celebrated in a makeshift worship site in the church’s parking lot, following a three-week closure of the church as a result of the desecration.
João Vissesse contributed to the writing of this story
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