Ankililoaka Mission is set in a remote and underdeveloped rural region of southwest Madagascar and is run by the Salesian Fathers. The people here have only recently encountered the Gospel for the first time, and their numbers are now growing. „The efforts of many years are finally beginning to bear fruit“, writes Father Charles Armand Randimbisoa, their parish priest. Again and again, the people of other villages who have found their way to the Catholic faith are appealing to the priests for help to build a chapel of their own.
Nevertheless, so far no more than 7% of the population are Christians and ancestor worship and belief in sorcery are still very much widespread. The Salesians have built schools and set up a radio station with the aim of raising the general level of education. In particular they are also working to enable girls to attend school as well, since women and girls are very much disadvantaged. There is still a great deal to do, but the Good News of Christ, for whom all souls are equally precious, is touching more and more hearts. Father Randimbisoa explains: „In a population with no education and trapped in its ancient traditions and customs, the Church is bringing great hope. She is playing a vital role, not only in evangelisation but also in education. Society can only benefit from the moral upbringing of its children and young people. Indeed, the Church is assuming an indispensable place in the midst of the population.“
The village of Morafeno is currently one of 18 outstations in the mission, and there is a growing community here. The people have already built a small chapel, using traditional materials, but this was badly damaged in 2022 by a tropical storm. And although the faithful continued to gather there to pray they were frightened that the crumbling building might collapse on them. And in any case it had become far too small for the growing number of worshippers. And so it was the dearest wish of the community to rebuild and enlarge this chapel. But given the fact that the people were so very poor, this seemed an unattainable dream for them.
However, Father Charles eventually turned to ACN, asking for help, and thanks to the generosity of so many of our kind benefactors, he has now finally been able to consecrate the new chapel. You contributed 14,000 Euros towards the cost. Father Charles reports: „The faithful are most grateful for the help you have given. They all got together and agreed to help and so keep the costs to a minimum, taking turns with jobs like transport and getting basic materials like sand and gravel. They worked tirelessly, walking and pushing wheelbarrows to bring cement and steel the 13 km from the nearest national highway to the building site.“
Now there is great rejoicing at their completed chapel. Says Father Charles, „When they finally saw the beautiful new church, bigger and more spacious than the one before, their hearts were filled with joy. And it has also made a big impact on the rest of the population. Many people have come to look at the church, and I have no doubt that very soon the building will be quite full. We want to express our heartfelt thanks to all our benefactors, for supporting us and continuing to help us.“
