There is great rejoicing among the Catholic faithful of the Archdiocese of Bukavu, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Thanks to the generous support of our benefactors, the archdiocese enabled it to modernize and upgrade the technical equipment for its local radio station, Radio Maria. At the same time they have managed to purchase a generator and so avoid the frequent power outages in the future. As a result they have been able to increase the number of their monthly broadcasts from 15 to 40.
Radio is a crucially important means of communication in Africa, where parishes often cover vast areas. For it enables the Church to reach the Catholic faithful even in the remotest villages, providing information and education and facilitating a full and lively participation of all the faithful in the life of the Church.
This ability to communicate with the people is especially important in regions – such as here in eastern Congo – where armed rebel groups make life difficult and travel insecure and dangerous for the ordinary people. In the province of North Kivu, in which the Archdiocese of Bukavu is situated, there are constantly recurring violent attacks, not just on the ordinary people but also against Church institutions, such as parishes, convents and presbyteries. Constantly shifting groups of armed rebels continue to terrorise the population, driving many to flight and spreading fear and psychological trauma everywhere. The roots of this violence lie partly in ethnic conflicts and in competition for valuable mineral resources – while in more recent times they have also involved an increasing presence of radical Islamist groups.
Thanks to this radio station, the Church is able to reach out to all the faithful wherever they live, bringing them consolation, advice and help and – above all when her priests are unable to reach the people – transmitting live broadcasts of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and so enabling them to still participate in the life of the Church.
Our heartfelt thanks to all of you for your support!