Eucharistic Congress in DR Congo: Archbishop Presents “perfect love” of Trinity as Model

“A family is a love story that is never finished,” the Local Ordinary of DRC’s Kisangani Archdiocese further said during the June 4 Eucharistic celebration that was held at the courtyard of the Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral of Lubumbashi Archdiocese.

He cautioned against the tendency to downplay love, saying, “If love no longer flows in a family, it destroys itself.”

“The same is true of the Church. If there's no more love, it collapses. The same is true of our nation. If citizens don't let love flow, tensions, ethnic conflicts and tribal wars take over and end up destroying it,” Archbishop Utembi emphasized.

The Congolese Catholic Archbishop urged trust in God who is love, saying, “God does not abandon his people.”

God, who is made manifest in the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, he said, is aware of “the misery of his people in the DR Congo in the various forms of suffering that this country is experiencing.”

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“He sees the suffering of families in the war in Ituri and North Kivu in general, the suffering of those affected by the conflicts in the West of the country, in the Kwamouth Territory in the Mai-Ndombe Province and in Kwilu,” Archbishop Utembi said. 

Recalling the victims of floods and landslides that left hundreds dead in DRC’s South Kivu Province, the Catholic Archbishop said, “God sees the families who have lost everything in the floods and landslides. God walks with his people.” 

The 64-year-old Archbishop who started his Episcopal Ministry in January 2002 as Bishop of DRC’s Mahagi-Nioka Diocese called for communion and peaceful coexistence in the example of the Holy Trinity. 

He said, “Believers must live in peace with one another, a sign of the relationships of love, unity and communion that exist in God.”

“Every time we invoke the Trinity, making the sign of the cross in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we communicate God's love to the world,” Archbishop Utembi said, and added, “Without God's love in our families and in our country, everything collapses.”

“Let us ask God, through the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to make this 3rd Eucharistic Congress of DRC a success,” the Congolese Archbishop implored during June 4 Holy Mass.

The June 4-11 Eucharistic Congress is the third one in the Central African nation after the first one that was held in Kisantu, in the Western part of the country in 1933, followed by the second one that was held in the country’s capital, Kinshasa, in 1980.

In his opening remarks during the June 4 celebration, the host of the Eucharistic Congress, the Local Ordinary of Lubumbashi Archdiocese, highlighted the importance of the national spiritual event, saying, “This gathering is intended to be a time of refreshment and revitalization of family in our country.”

Archbishop Fulgence Muteba Mugalu echoed the message of Archbishop Utembi on the need for love saying, “The family must be founded on love, without which society cannot survive.” 

Today, Archbishop Muteba further said, “the family faces many challenges. It faces natural disasters and insecurity, particularly in the east of the country.”

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“The challenge is to understand to what extent the African, Congolese Christian family can rely on the Eucharistic faith to consolidate itself and face up to the challenges it faces,” the Congolese Catholic Archbishop said.

Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle, the Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, who is the Papal special envoy to the Eucharistic Congress that had been postponed from June 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions is expected in the country on Friday, June 9.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.