Libreville, 02 October, 2019 / 12:34 am (ACI Africa).
The people of God in Gabon who just concluded the yearlong celebrations to mark 175 years of Catholicism in their country have been encouraged to maintain the pastoral and spiritual passion that they experienced throughout the year, the Papal delegate to the concluding ceremony, Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso said Sunday, September 29.
“Spiritual and pastoral fervor will not stop at the closing of this jubilee year, but must enter permanently into the daily Christian life of all the baptized,” Archbishop Dal Toso who is the Adjunct Secretary of Congregation for the Evangelization of People has been quoted as saying.
The Church in Gabon marked the yearlong Jubilee celebration with activities that highlighted the role of the pioneer missionaries including the founders of Catholicism in the country the Spiritans, headed by Bishop Jean-Rémi Bessieux.
French-born Bishop Bessieux, a member of the Congregation of Holy Ghost Fathers (Spiritans), was the first bishop to shepherd the West-Central African country bordering the Atlantic Ocean where he established the first mission in 1844.
“The jubilee year that ends today is an exemplary illustration of the glory of the Lord Jesus that was accomplished during the pontifical missionary work of (Bishop) Bessieux,” Archbishop Dal Taso said as he presided over the closing mass of the Jubilee celebrations in Gabon’s capital, Libreville.
