LETTER TO THE FRIENDS AND BENEFACTORS OF THE SAINT PIUS X MISSION, GABON
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PAX
Libreville, Sunday October 22nd 2006.
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
It is now two years since I last wrote to you all. This doesn’t mean that we ignore you, or that we would not need any more of your support, quite the contrary! For those who understand a little French we now have our monthly bulletin “le Saint Pie”. Through this means, regular news is given of our activity. (If you wish to receive this bulletin in French, please let me know.) In receiving your letters over the past months we understand that you have at heart the support of our missionary work in Gabon.
This general letter aims at giving you all a little more news of our activities, and in particular to those who do not read French. However, even the monthly bulletin does not include everything, since its principal aim is to help in forming our faithful and our Gabonese youth as good Catholics. Our combat is firstly very spiritual, against the forces of the evil animated by the devils and their helpers throughout the world. Our combat is for true holiness which can only be established in our hearts, in our families and in our cities through the social reign of Our King, Our Lord Jesus Christ. King of Heaven and Earth, which he created and redeemed by the pouring out of His Precious Blood on the wood of the Cross and which He continues to offer to His Heavenly Father through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass offered daily by your priests upon the altars.
If October is known as the month of Our Lady of the Rosary, it is also that of Christ the King and is also the month of the Holy Angels. All together, the blessed Saints, the holy Angels and Our Lady join together to form, by their holiness, the incomparable court of glory around Our Blessed Lord, Christ the King. The very Blessed Virgin Mary, over and above all the other saints, is position at the highest place, even above the angels and the elected officials, thanks to her personal privilege of the Immaculate Conception. Privilege which allots to her the grace to be the Queen of the Angels and of all the saints of Heaven, because she was chosen, by God, to be the Mother of Christ the King, from all eternity.
Therefore our combat for holiness is a combat for the reign of Christ the King throughout the world. It is also for this reason that the General Chapter, of the Priestly Society of Saint Pius X, last July, asked for a million rosaries to be prayed and offered during the month of October to Our Lady of the Rosary, the victorious Virgin of all the major combats of the Church. A million rosaries for the reign of Our Lord and Savour Jesus Christ, by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. So that the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, known as the Mass of Saint Pius V, reigns again, not only in the chapels of the Society of Saint Pius X, or some other privileged congregations, but everywhere, as it was formerly, when it reigned on all altars, in all churches, chapels and oratories throughout the whole world. O that time was truly a beautiful time! It is true that at that time, there was neither a New Mass, nor a Council Vatican II to shake the Catholic faith of the baptised. Let us continue to pray and to fight - God will give the victory!
The month of October is also for us, at the Saint Pius X Mission, the beginning of a new catechism year. Father Nicolas BELY, is now in charge and to date has nearly 600 registered including 120 adults. They will prepare for the various sacraments of Baptism, Holy Communion, and Confirmation. We request 3 years of preparations for Baptism. We also ask for 3 years of catechism preparation of those who are already baptised, as small children, in preparation for their First Holy Communion and Confirmation. For those who wish, we give up to six years of catechism classes. This includes an extra three years of classes to deepen their knowledge and to help them persevere in their Faith. Modern times, so abused by all kinds of false religions, especially the charismatic protestant sects, require the faithful today to have a much more thorough formation than formerly. And the students who remain faithful to the Mission are quite conscious of it because they see their own families being torn to pieces. Some family members going to this church, others going to that church, no longer knowing where the truth is - where the true Church of Christ is. What we live here in Gabon, is lived everywhere else in Africa now. All these false religions, all these false churches, are the bitter fruits of a false Religious Freedom. This violent poison, distilled in the freemasonic lodges, is poisoning all Christendom. Since the Second Vatican Council accepted this false principle, the Church is committing suicide and goes towards an unquestionable death. It is therefore necessary to reject these false principles and to finish with them so that the Holy Church of Christ may finally find again its prerogative in being the only true and single Church, founded by Our Blessed Lord, source of eternal life, and without which nobody can claim to save himself, separated from it or without it. It is necessary, nevertheless, that one day the Roman authorities also understand this, for the salvation of many souls.
As in every year, on October 13th, the anniversary day of the great miracle of Fatima, our faithful took part in the procession from the “Juvénat du Sacré Cœur” school complex to the main Mission compound. All up, there were about one thousand people who followed the procession, assisting also at Holy Mass, sung by Father Gregory, and listening to the vibrant sermon given by Father Hugues BERGEZ, recently arrived in Gabon. In his sermon he pointed out the great need for praying to the Blessed Virgin Mary, so that her Immaculate Heart triumphs over all the modern heresies which infest Holy Mother Church. It is not only a question of saying beautiful prayers, it is also necessary to live our daily lives in a truly Catholic manor. Our behaviour, our actions and our clothing should show that we are Catholic.
I have just mentioned to you about the Father Gregory, but I suppose you are wondering who he is? He is a Nigerian priest, ordained a little more than seven years ago, in the Congregation of the Augustinian Fathers. He is thus a religious and he came to know us by attending the chapel of the Fraternity of Saint Peter, who have been in Nigeria since a few years ago. In Nigeria, as in many places, the priests of the Fraternity of Saint Peter are not free, neither in their preaching, nor to exercise all the sacraments of their ministry. Father Gregory did not find this normal for a priest and complained to his fellow priests. Soon after, he also gave a conference against the New Mass, which the hierarchy did not like, nor his fellow priests. He was swiftly requested to take leave to go to see his family. On returning, he was informed that he had been appointed “chaplain” to a small Marian group who had remained faithful to the True Mass in Lagos, the capital of Nigeria. At that point he contacted Bishop Fellay, in Menzingen (Switzerland), who sent him to us in Gabon. One year later he is still with us and has finally found a priestly life, as normal as he could imagine it, for any Catholic Priest. He has learned to celebrate better Holy Mass, since at Saint Peter’s, it is not quite the same. As an English speaker, he also had to learn French. He is not an expert, but as the faithful here say, “he does not manage too badly, to make himself understood”. He has even preached several times, but with one of those unbelievably strong accents! It is all very courageous on his part, because, as he says himself, it has completely changed his life. The priesthood which he lives with us is nothing to do with his priestly life that he had known previously. He feels that he now lives a true priesthood. As you can understand, this young and dedicated priest is a concrete example, proving what we have said, for many years, that with Vatican II, they had also changed the priesthood, as they had changed the Mass. They wanted a “lay priesthood”, a “non sacred” priesthood, for an upside down Mass, a Mass without the supernatural, a pale figure of the Protestant Last Supper. It is not surprising that the world is going so badly!
And our projects?
Our major project, which advances nevertheless little by little, is the future boy’s secondary boarding school. The Gabonese state gave us a good ten-hectare site at the outskirts of the village called “ENDEME”, located 65 kilometres from Libreville. In this village there is also a rail station, which is part of the famous “Transgabonais” rail line which crosses through the magnificent equatorial rainforest linking the country from one end to the other. From Franceville in the south east up to Libreville in the north west. The rail link also carries the manganese extracted from the mines of Mounana (not far from Franceville) to the mineral port south of Libreville. Gabon is the third largest worldwide manganese exporter, of the highest quality of manganese.
Our property, which borders the main national road, is mainly forest, but also has a beautiful little river with clear fresh water! We have named the property “Domaine Saint Joseph” or “Saint Joseph’s Domain”. Under the dedicated direction of Father Patrick DUVERGER and with the expertise of Father Arnold TRAUNER the deforestation is actually taking place. Firstly the plants and small bushes are removed using machetes and that is done by the men hired from the local village. Secondly Father Olivier RIOULT comes through with the chainsaw, for the small and medium trees and finally the larger trees are dealt with by professionals. Each Saturday, very early in the morning, an expedition of men leaves Libreville for the day, to work on the clearing and the developing of this piece of land, which will receive one day a boarding school for the education of the Gabonese teenagers - the workforce of the future. But when will it open? There are still many factors not yet resolved. To help us with this enormous task, one of our friends in France sent us a gift of a 10 ton Mercedes Benz truck with a magnificent Massey Fergusson tractor on it - complete with all its accessories. You should see how Father Arnold handles these machines! He is the only one here with a truck licence. Some of the faithful here admire and even envy him. Undoubtedly, you may think, it would be better for us to employ a truck driver? True, but… a competent truck driver is expensive!
And then, dear friends and benefactors, you may remember that at the equator, with the rain and heat, as soon as you cut the grass and the foliages, they grow back at a phenomenal speed, it is incredible. You almost need to see it to believe it. What was cleared away in June is already back and stands more than one meter high. We are required to continually cut back until the plants die off. To make it easier and quicker, we really need to send a bulldozer, across the whole ten-hectare site to uproot the plants. But that again is very expensive. However, it soon will become necessary so as to open the one kilometre road linking the boarding school construction site to the main road. The estimate cost of a six meters wide compacted dirt road comes to nearly 31,000 € ($US37,000 or £22,000 or $AUD50,000). It is necessary for us to find that money as fast as possible, because without the road it will be impossible for the trucks or construction machines to reach the building site without becoming bogged in the ground. The clearing of the land, linking the electricity from the national road to the construction site, building water supply tanks, building a small hut for the resident warden, and opening the road are our first priorities and even to achieve this first step we are obliged once again to call upon your generosity.
Saint James’ House, at our Chapel at Four Places (150 kms from Libreville), is now finished. It enabled us to open its doors for the first time for a two-week camp for the girls from the Company of Mary Immaculate. The camp was directed by the Sisters of the Society of Saint Pius X, with Father Jean Baptiste FRAMENT as chaplain. All involved, Father, the Sisters and the young ladies appreciated the concept of the building which is on two levels. However for twenty people, it was a little tight. The house still requires another wing with a large room as a dormitory, plus a few extra rooms and another large room for a refectory. In the dry season, they can eat, play and work outside, but in the rainy season, it is other matter! The only disappointment, this year, was the necessity to collect water every day from the village pump (at the other end of the village) because the 40 m3 tank, built to collect the rainwater from the roof of the chapel and the house was just finished when the dry season started. It certainly was bad timing… so much so that the camp almost failed to take place. However, next year all will be well, because the rainy season has now returned and is presently filling the water tank, much to the delight of all concerned.
The boys from the Eucharistic Crusade found themselves for their two weeks camp with Father Paterne LONGUELET, who was assisted by the Brothers Felix-Marie and Antoine. Their camp was held this year in the large house at Mebaville. This house is generously loaned to us by one of the faithful. After the camp the house was also used for two Ignatian Retreats (attended by 25 women then by 23 men). It is incredible to see how these Spiritual Exercises carrying so many graces. Each time they are preached, we witness some true miracles of conversion. And all of that is very encouraging.
Dear Friends and Benefactors of the Saint Pius X Mission, there is still so much news to tell you and so many other financial worries to confide to you. One such example is that we are being forced to purchase a new photocopier. When it is not broken down (which is happening more and more often), it not only prints off the monthly bulletin “le Saint Pie”, but it prints off all the class sheets for the numerous Catechism classes. Seeing the quantities of copies needed each week we are now thinking of buying a small printing machine (a “duplicator”). But to print A3 format paper, we need a machine which, in Gabon, costs approximately 11,000 € ($US13,000 or £8,000 or $AUD17,000) - what is a lot more than just a pinch of salt. Certainly true, but we have confidence. Saint Joseph has never abandoned us. It is with the encouragement of his guiding hand and his abundant generosity that I do not hesitate in turning once again to you all.
How can we thank you, our dear Friends and Benefactors, for your past generosities, and for those to come? Of course, we do say “thank you very much” but we also remember to hold you between our fingers when offering the immaculate host at Holy Mass. We daily request Our Blessed Lord to beg His Heavenly Father to grant you all the graces which you need, for yourselves and for your families.
As today is Mission Sunday, I also offer you a special blessing from a missionary.
Reverend Father Patrick GROCHE
Superior of the Saint Pius X Mission, Gabon.
Contributions to help our missionary work may be sent as follows:
Contributions to help our missionary work may be sent as follows:
Cheques payable to "Mission St. Pius X – GABON"
In Australia & New Zealand:
Mission St. Pius X – GABON
Post Office Box 25
PENSHURST NSW 2222
AUSTRALIA
In U.K. :
Mission St. Pius X – GABON
Saint George’s House
125 Arthur Rd, Wimbledon Park
GB - London - SW19 7DR
In the U.S.A.:
Mission St. Pius X – GABON
2201 Canyon Drive
COEUR D'ALENE ID 83815-9074, U.S.A.
please indicate
if a tax receipt is required
Donations of Rosary beads, Holy cards, medals, ... etc. should be sent directly to Gabon: Mission St. Pius X, Quartier La Peyrie, B.P. 3870, LIBREVILLE - GABON (AFRICA)
District
It is now two years since I last wrote to you all. This doesn’t mean that we ignore you, or that we would not need any more of your support, quite the contrary! For those who understand a little French we now have our monthly bulletin “le Saint Pie”. Through this means, regular news is given of our activity. (If you wish to receive this bulletin in French, please let me know.) In receiving your letters over the past months we understand that you have at heart the support of our missionary work in Gabon. 