Visiting this country in East Africa, the secretary of state of the Holy See celebrated the mass of the solemnity of the Assumption of Mary, in the Marian sanctuary of Mugera. On August 14, he inaugurated a monument to the place of the assassination of the apostolic nonce Mgr Courtney in December 2003. “He got closer to everyone,” said the Cardinal, to communicate the vision of a possible peace “.
Vatican News
In Burundi, the celebration of the solemnity of the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary coincided with the elevation to the rank of a minor basilica, the Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue parish where the National Marian Sanctuary of Mugera is located, belonging to the Archdiocese of Gitega. The celebration, chaired by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, secretary of state of the Holy See, brought together the bishops of the country, the apostolic nuncio in Burundi and his diplomatic collaborator, hundreds of priests, religious and nuns and thousands of faithful. The Burundian government was represented by the President of the Republic, an Evarist Ndayishimiye.
Mass at the National Marian Sanctuary of Mugera
The Marian Sanctuary of Mugera, where the faithful pray to Notre-Dame de Lourdes, who commemorates the consecration of Burundi on August 15, 1961, to the Virgin Mary Queen of Peace, and where God granted many graces by the intercession of the Virgin Mary, continues to be a place where each year thousands of faithful go on pilgrimage to implore the country and world. This permanent annual pilgrimage recalls that consecration to the Virgin is the expression of the growing faith of the Burundian Church, of her desire to take refuge under the protection of the Mother of Heaven and to be guided through her by her Son Jesus Christ.
A small cave with African stones
What strikes the most in the sanctuary of Mugera, is the way in which a small cave with African stones, designed in the image of the Lourdes cave, can attract an immense crowd of pilgrims who come to Mugera to find hope and pray to their celestial mother, so that she makes peace in hearts on earth and lights the spirit world. All the faithful of this beloved country, which has known so many trials and who never gave up living in hope, show their faith in this place, so that men of good will continue with courage and self-denial their efforts to achieve so desired peace.
This is why Cardinal Parolin, in his homily, launched a new calling call to go beyond his personal interests so that, with renewed ardor, we put ourselves in the service of the common good in the world, so that in the places of war, where so many people have ended up trials and deprivation for so long, one can again aspire to live in dignity and security.
The blessing of the monument to the memory of the Nunce Courtney
The day before, the Secretary of State went to Minago to bless a monument erected at the place where, on December 29, 2003, the apostolic nonce Michael Courtney, Irish archbishop, was killed in an ambush while returning home. Cardinal Parolin recalled that Mgr Courtney accompanied the Burundian people for difficult years, and has always worked in favor of reconciliation and peace, acting towards all with patience and tenacity, to communicate his vision of possible peace, and going close to everyone, without worrying about his own life.
He finally repeated the words with which, on January 1, 2004, Saint John Paul II paid tribute to the Archbishop Courtney: for the Christian, “proclaiming peace is to announce Christ who is “our peace ““, It is to announce his gospel, which is”The Gospel of Peace»; It is to call all men to bliss to be “Peace craftsmen “». Bishop Michael Aidan Courtney, as an apostolic nuncio in Burundi, tragically murdered while he was carrying out his mission in favor of dialogue and reconciliation, was also witness to “The Gospel of Peace». Cardinal invited to pray for him, “Hoping that his example and his sacrifice will bear fruit of peace in Burundi and in the world».
