“Since his appointment as Bishop of Alindao, I have shared very close moments with him because I have always worked with him. When he came to Alindao, he made me the administrator of his cathedral. Then he chose me to be his Vicar General, so I worked hand in hand with him throughout his tenure as the Bishop of Alindao,” Bishop Yapaupa recalls.
The Catholic Bishop, who started his Episcopal Ministry as Coadjutor Bishop of Alindao Diocese in July 2012 says that his predecessor in the CAR Diocese “was an extremely open person; he was always approachable and accessible, and you could come to him at any time. He loved the dialogue. We talked to him a lot. If there were difficulties, he always listened.”
The 54-year-old Local Ordinary of Alindao since March 2014 went on to recall about his predecessor, “When he chose me to be Vicar General, he said: ‘I am old, I wanted a young priest to be the link.’ He thought that a young Vicar General would perhaps understand the others better and act as a link with him. That's why he chose me.”
“I learned a lot from him: availability, hospitality, dialogue, honesty. He was sincere in what he said and what he did. He paid attention to everyone, even the weakest, those who had difficulties, and he did not condemn them, but tried to help them to get back on their feet,” Bishop Yapaupa shared in the interview realized after the funeral Mass of the late Bishop on November 4.
He recalled the advice Bishop Marzinkowski gave him when he was appointed Coadjutor Bishop of Alindao.
“He told me to be attentive to others, never to judge people. As a shepherd, one must be close to the faithful and accompany them. This advice will remain in my heart,” the Bishop of Alindao said.
Bishop Yapaupa further said Bishop Marzinkowski’s “greatest dream was to have well trained catechists. He started this when he was a Priest. He devoted a lot of time to it. When he came to Alindao, he tried to improve it. He built a catechetical centre where catechists were trained.”
He said, “Bishop Marzinkowski taught us by the way he lived; he was much more of a pragmatist than a theorist. He came to us as a simple man who respected everyone, even the youngest. He always had a listening ear and a compassionate heart. His way of life is a testimony to us.”
Born in March 1939 in Liegnitz in the Archdiocese of Wrocław {Breslavia}, Poland, present-day Germany, the late Spiritan Bishop studied in Breslavia and in Rome at the Gregorian University.
He made his first profession in the Congregation of the Holy Ghost Fathers in 1961 and perpetual profession in 1964. He was ordained a Priest in July 1968 and sent on mission to the Central African Republic.
