Inongo — The Catholic Diocese of Inongo in Bandundu, west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, is celebrating a century of evangelization.

Fr. Emile Geens and Fr. Jules Denis, members of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (Scheut missionaries), opened Inongo Mission Station in 1907. The Diocese of Inongo was erected in 1953.

Centenary celebrations opened with a solemn Mass on October 14 at Saint Albert's Cathedral, attended by thousands of Catholics from the 21 parishes of the diocese, Fides reported.

The Mass was presided over by the Bishop of Inongo, Bishop Philippe Nkiere Kena. Concelebrants included Archbishop Laurent Monsengwo Pasinya of Kisangani, president of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Congo, the emeritus bishop of Inondo,Léon Lesambo, Bishop Jean-Gaspard Mudiso of Kenge, Bishop Dominique Bulamatari, auxiliary of Kinshasa, and Archbishop Godefroid Mukeng, emeritus of Kananga.

During the Mass, Fr. Michel Ekonzo, Scheut missionaries' Kinshasa vice-provincial, read out a message from the superior general of the congregation, Congolese Fr Edouard Tsimba. Fr. Tsimba expressed gratitude to the local people for welcoming the missionaries and for the many local young men who have since become Scheut missionaries.

Bishop Nkiere said the centenary celebrations were a time of grace, but also a call to responsibility and change, and individual and collective examination of conscience.

Archbishop Monsengwo asked for a minute of silence to pray for deceased missionaries. In the homily, the president of the Congolese bishops recalled that the first missionaries came to win the people for Christ, not with weapons but with the Gospel, to make peoples of many different languages into one people.

The Mass was followed by a reception and festivities including choirs of Christian confessions in the diocese who joined the celebrations.

The Diocese of Inongo has an area of 100sq km and a population of 823,000, including 407,000 Catholics.