Fr. Fernando Domingues: “I Am a learner all over again”

The celebration took place at the end of the day, in the middle of the week, and many people found it difficult to attend. In this suburb of Maputo, most people work in the city, and the journey home after work is always subject to uncertain travel times.

There are always more passengers than the small chapas can accommodate. Chapas are privately operated, licensed minivans used for public transport. They have nine seats, but at every stop, it is like “a mother’s heart”—there is always room for one more!

The celebration was presided over by Dom João Carlos Hatoa Nunes, Archbishop of Maputo, who was accompanied by his auxiliary bishop, Dom Tonito Francisco Xavier Muananoua.

Dom João Carlos, the son of a Portuguese father and a Chinese mother, was born in this parish. Whenever he can, he never misses an opportunity to spend some time with the people who saw him grow up. He always likes to remind them that he was baptised and confirmed here.

Whenever I begin a new ministry, I become a learner all over again, and here I certainly have a great deal to learn.

The parish has many dozens of small local Christian communities, which are known here as núcleos (neighbourhood communities). In each of the five zones, we have a church where we celebrate the Eucharist once during the week.

On Sundays, we receive help from other priests to celebrate the five Masses. More than a thousand people attend the Sunday Eucharist in each of these churches. Sunday Mass almost always lasts less than two hours.

I am delighted to see hundreds of people actively committed to the various ministries within the communities and at the parish level.

Around 120 catechists work in catechesis, some with more experience and others just beginning.

There are many groups of adult catechumens, as well as groups for children and adolescents.

At the retreat I led last Saturday for the Proclamadores da Palavra (Readers), more than a hundred men and women took part, including a good number of young people.

Then there is the welcoming ministry, which organises the celebrations in the churches, and the communications team, which shares news and announcements and posts a little “biblical snack” on social media every day.

And every day, around our small parish house, the cheerful “music” of games and songs rings out, along with the shouts of children from the parish’s two schools. Altogether, I believe there are more than 1,500 pupils.

There is no shortage of challenges. And here, the best way to learn is to get involved, roll up your sleeves, work hard, and do so with great humility. God will not fail to provide whatever we need.

Fr. Fernando Domingues, MCCJ