The daily life of Father Renzo Piazza, in the geographical and existential peripheries of Chad

On my arrival in Chad, I received two great ‘gifts’: being sent to the outskirts of Kilwiti and being assigned to look after the local prison. These are two places of ‘periphery’, geographical and existential. I devote much of my time to these two realities.

Starting at Easter, I travel early in the morning to Kilwiti for the 5.30am mass. I leave at night, when there is no one on the street (apart from those distributing bread) and I travel with the window open to get some fresh air.

It takes me 45 minutes to reach the parish. There, the newly baptised are waiting for me in their white robes and lamps. I take the opportunity for a little morning catechesis on Jesus, so that they can then be free to go to school.

For the past couple of weeks, on the occasion of the 10^th anniversary of Pope Francis’s encyclical Laudato si’, I have been meeting the school children after Mass and talking to them about respecting our ‘common home’. I get the first two hours of class, before the heat hits. I also taught the little ones to sing the hymn ‘Laudato si’, mi Signore’, to their great joy and mine.

Many things can be said about God the Creator and “Mother Earth who nourishes and sustains us”, starting from the reality that surrounds us, from the streets clogged with plastic and rubbish... It saddens me that the children, who practically live in an area that has become a real desert in recent years, do not know what a flower, a mountain, the sea is... There are no trees here. These children have never seen a nest or heard birds chirping. The colour green is practically non-existent in these areas. A large part of the beauty of creation is prevented from them by the extremely harsh environmental conditions.

I spend three mornings (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) in this way, in the company of the pupils, their teachers and a few other adults.

Saturday is the day of the prison visit. Two nuns accompany me. Sometimes there is also some Christian with us who wants to do a corporal and spiritual act of mercy. Lately, the authorities have increased controls, making life more difficult for prisoners. And so, instead of the indulgence invoked by Pope Francis, prisoners have found harshness, severity and, often, fierce repression.

I have often wondered what I could do to improve the atmosphere a little. Now, prayer and the celebration of the Eucharist are experienced by the prisoners as moments of life and joy. Next week we will have the baptism of seven of them, and this too will be a time of joy (also because on that day we will help them to have a slightly more substantial lunch than usual).

In this service to the prisons, I found the Brothers of the Christian Schools helpful. They have agreed to send some trainers for short courses in carpentry and welding. We should start with these courses in a few days.

I spend and live Sunday with the large Christian community: more than a thousand faithful gather together with their brothers and sisters to praise God and celebrate. After Mass, there is always some group waiting for me for a moment of instruction or animation: the young people, the catechists, the community leaders, the candidates for confirmation... To help me in this, there are about thirty catechists who instruct the catechumens, the young people and the community leaders. With the heat these days, when midday comes, I must give up... They, on the other hand, continue with their teaching. They are never in a hurry to finish.

I thank the Lord because he gives me both the strength to go on in missionary service and the opportunity to rest. And I also thank him because so many people pray for me and encourage me. Among these are also you.

Next time I will tell you something about the construction of a health centre.

Please receive a warm greeting and a big hug from me.

Father Renzo Piazza, mccj in Ciad