Mindelo, 16 October, 2024 / 9:05 pm (ACI Africa).
Bishop Ildo Augusto dos Santos Lopes Fortes of the Catholic Diocese of Mindelo in Cape Verde has emphasized the unifying power of faith within the Cape Verdean diaspora community.
In an interview with Vatican News following Holy Mass in honor of Our Lady of the Rosary, the patroness of Cape Verdeans in Rome, Bishop dos Santos recounted how faith and religious traditions remain a cornerstone of identity for Cape Verdeans living abroad.
“The faith factor is what can unite our people the most. Wherever they go, if there's one thing Cape Verdeans take with them, it's their faith and traditions,” the Portuguese-born Catholic Bishop said in the interview that was published on Tuesday, October 15.
Bishop dos Santos shared how the devotion of Cape Verdean emigrants is a testament to their sense of belonging, even in foreign lands. “It’s always a gratifying moment because our people in the diaspora have a great veneration and appreciation for their pastors, and they feel that we are theirs and they are ours. So, it’s as if they belong to another island—an eleventh island of Cape Verde,” he said.
The 59-year-old Catholic Bishop, who has been at the helm of Mindelo Diocese since his Episcopal Ordination in April 2011 urged Cape Verdean Catholics to cherish their religious traditions, noting that such practices keep them connected to their roots.
