Faith amid adversity
Father Patrick Cahill enjoys time with residents of the Archdiocese of Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo during his visit in October.ASHEVILLE — On World Mission Sunday in October, Father Patrick Cahill experienced a special joy of celebrating Mass alongside Missionhurst Father Andre Mangongo at his parish in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Father Cahill, mission office director for the Diocese of Charlotte and pastor of St. Eugene Church in Asheville, spent seven days in the central African nation, from Oct. 20 to Oct. 27, to visit parishes, convents and schools in the Archdiocese of Kinshasa, which are supported by funds raised in the diocese.
“I try to occasionally make due-diligence visits to the missions to see how things are going,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for me to communicate our love and concern for our brothers and sisters in the missions we support.”
He was lucky to make the trip, because the U.S. State Department turned down his requests for a visa the first two times he applied, because of the region’s severe instability.
Congo has struggled for decades with civil wars and violence against civilians from various armed groups, some homegrown and others from neighboring nations, particularly in the country’s eastern region. Christians have been targeted in the east, including the death of a Catholic priest in 2022 and 17 people who died in an explosion at a Pentecostal church in January.
Despite ongoing violence elsewhere in Congo, conditions around the Archdiocese of Kinshasa were safe enough for Father Cahill to travel. For safety, his visits were confined to the sprawling capital city of Kinshasa in the southwest and its outskirts, home to more than 16 million people.
The Archdiocese of Kinshasa has 6,378,000 Catholics, a massive population served by only 143 parishes, according to recent statistics.
Some of the funds raised by the Diocese of Charlotte go to support the Missionhurst order of priests, also known as the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Other funds go directly to support seminaries, convents, schools and parishes.
“I visited three seminaries, two convents, numerous parishes and the archdiocesan chancery and pastoral center,” Father Cahill said. “And despite the challenges people face there, I found it a very inspiring place to be because the Church there is alive. The seminaries and the convents are full. The Catholic schools are full and a lot of the parishes are full. Their needs are expanding there because the Church is growing.”
He said the enthusiasm Congolese Catholics have for their faith was evident at the Oct. 22 Mass with Father Mangongo, a former visiting priest to the Diocese of Charlotte. Offered at a parish in a developing area on the outskirts of Kinshasa, the Mass lasted three hours, and included lots of vibrant, percussive music, a special procession before the reading of the Gospel, and an elaborate offertory.
“It takes a long time because the offertory is very intentional – every single person there has to decide whether they individually stand to offer something, so it takes a while,” Father Cahill explained.
After the Mass, he also blessed a new well on the parish grounds.
“It was a challenge to get there, because the roads were not paved and the conditions in the area were pretty extreme, but it was special to be able to reach out and show support for Father Mangongo,” he said. “Despite the heat, I got a great welcome from people there who are very happy and very devoted to their faith.”
Growing the faith takes place amid a seemingly endless list of challenges around Kinshasa, he said, ranging from electricity that is sometimes only available a few hours a day, to squatters who take up residence on church properties and refuse to leave.
Despite some adversity, however, men are flocking to the priesthood in the archdiocese’s seminaries. And a seminarian’s work, he said, is seemingly never done – the men leave the classroom and go to work maintaining campus facilities, tending animals and working in fruit and vegetable gardens.
“It was exciting and inspiring to see their work and an honor to visit Congo and experience the faith of the people,” Father Cahill said. “It was a chance to see the very real impact mission funds can have on building the Church.”
— Christina Lee Knauss
Father Cahill concelebrated a Mass alongside Missionhurst Father Andre Mangongo, once a guest priest in the Diocese of Charlotte.
Children fill jugs at a well on the site of a parish that helps local residents with access to clean water.