HAVE YOU MISSED ANY COPY OF WORLDWIDE?
YOU ARE WELCOME
TO ORDER PAST ISSUES
@ R 20.00 plus p&p
WRITE TO wwide@mweb.co.za or wwide.magazine@wwide
| Oct – Nov 2024 WORLD MISSION SUNDAY 2024 |
| Aug – Sept 2024 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE: BLESSING OR CURSE? |
| Jun – Jul 2024 MENTAL HEALTH MINISTRY |
| Apr – May 2024 CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING |
| Feb – Mar 2024 CONSECRATED LIFE |
| Dec – Jan 2024 JOURNEYS OF LIFE |
| Oct – Nov 2023 MISSION: DIALOGUE FOR PEACE |
| …and many more! |
| Contact us also at: www.worldwidemagazine.org Or you may visit us at our Physical address: 518 President Street, Silverton, Pretoria Tel: +27/ 12 804 61 93 +27/ 72 928 4214 |
MOTHER MARY IN AFRICA
Head of the Statue of Mother Mary at Kibeho, Rwanda, carved by Marek Kowalski and based on the models of Jean Pierre Sibomana and Faustin Kayitana. In the statue, Mother Mary holds the Seven Sorrows Chaplet, a Marian devotion reintroduced to the Catholic community by Our Lady of Kibeho.
Kibeho is the only Marian apparition on African soil, officially recognized by the Church. Mother Mary’s requests for prayers preluded the 1994 Genocide.
| Dates To Remember |
|
April 2 – World Autism Awareness Day 4 – International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action 6 – International Day of Sport for Development and Peace 7 – International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda 7 – World Health Day 18 – Good Friday 20 – Easter Sunday 21 – SA Family Day 22 – International Mother Earth Day 23 – World Book and Copyright Day 24 – International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace 25 – World Malaria Day 27 – SA Freedom Day 28 – World Day for Safety and Health at Work 30 – Our Lady, Mother of Africa March 1 – St Joseph the Worker / Workers Day 3 – World Press Freedom Day 10 – World Migratory Bird Day 15 – International Day of Families 20 – World Bee Day 21 – World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development 22 – International Day for Biological Diversity 25 – World Football Day 25 – Africa Day 29 – International Day of UN Peacekeepers 31 – World No-Tobacco Day |
MOTHER OF HOPE
The Devotion to Mother Mary extends over the whole continent of Africa. From North to South, East to West, crowds of devotees fill every corner of Marian shrines whenever celebrations take place. This fervent commitment is a sign of the vitality and lived faith by the Church in Africa.
PATRIARCH BARTHOLOMEW: 1054 CHURCH DIVISION ‘NOT INSURMOUNTABLE’ AS NICAEA ANNIVERSARY NEARS
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I of Constantinople offered a hopeful historical assessment of the traditional 1054 date for the “Great Schism” between Rome and Constantinople, suggesting that tensions developed gradually over time and “are not insurmountable.”
HOPES FOR PEACE IN A COUNTRY DEVASTATED BY WAR AND EXPLOITATION
The Vatican Pontifical Antonianum University hosted a conference entitled ‘Rethinking Peace in the Democratic Republic of Congo’ on 20 March 2025. Speakers present at the event were representatives of those who are suffering the consequences of that conflict, including Baderha Batumike Patient and Jean-Claude Mulekya Kinombe.
NEW SUPERIOR GENERAL FOR THE COMBONI MISSIONARIES
Father Luigi Fernando Codianni was elected Superior General of the Comboni Missionaries on 21 February 2025 in Rome. The Provincial Superior of the Comboni Missionaries in South Africa explains to us who the newly elected leader is and tells us more about his missionary trajectory in the Institute.
CIVIL WAR IN SUDAN
The Sudanese war is another forgotten conflict which the general media hardly speak about. It is the battered land to which St Daniel Comboni dedicated his life. The conflict deserves our attention and our prayers for a peaceful solution.
OUR VOICES WERE HEARD
The Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office (CPLO) has devoted itself, for more than 27 years, to foster improvements in laws intended to be approved by the Parliament making them more beneficial for the lives of the citizens.
MARY, MOTHER OF MERCY SHRINE: A HOME OF PRAYER
Situated in the serene landscape of Magaliesburg, and a short drive from the Cradle of Humankind— a World Heritage Site—the Shrine of Mary, Mother of Mercy, was officially inaugurated on 27 April 2024 by Archbishop Emeritus Buti Joseph Tlhagale OMI.
A SPIRITUAL BONFIRE IN THE HEART OF AFRICA
When we contemplate Marian apparitions and pilgrimage sites or shrines, our minds are generally drawn to the most famous ones such as Lourdes (France), Fatima (Portugal), and Guadalupe (Mexico). Yet, nestled in the charming hills of the southern part of Rwanda, we find the only approved Marian apparition site in Africa, ‘’Our Lady of Kibeho’’.
POPENGUINE, THE ‘LOURDES’ OF SENEGAL
On Pentecost Tuesday, 22 May 1888, a crowd of 200 faithful converged on the shrine of Popenguine on foot, on horseback or by pirogue, to venerate, for the first time, Our Lady of Deliverance. Over more than a century, this pilgrimage which now brings together nearly 100 000 people every year, has become a highlight of the Christian faith in Senegal.
THE ADVOCATION OF OUR LADY AS COVENANT OF MERCY OR KIDANE MIHIRET
The cathedral of Hawassa in southern Ethiopia is dedicated to Mary, with the name Covenant of Mercy or Kidane Mihiret. The Apostolic Administrator of the Vicariate for the last four years writes about this advocacy of Mother Mary.
THE BASILICA NOTRE DAME D’AFRIQUE A PLACE FOR CHRISTIAN-MUSLIM DIALOGUE
The article illustrates the significance of the Basilica of Notre Dame D’ Afrique (Our Lady of Africa) for Christian-Muslim dialogue in Algeria. The author brings to the fore the particularity of the Catholic Church in the Muslim milieu and discusses the significance of the figure of Mary in the Catholic-Muslim dialogue.
MUXIMA OR THE MOTHER OF THE HEART
Every year the Sanctuary of Our Lady of the Conception of Muxima welcomes about two million pilgrims from all over Angola and other countries, who come in search of spiritual nourishment, with great faith in God and trust in the power of the intercession of Mama Muxima, patron saint of the sanctuary.
THE SHRINE OF NOTRE DAME DU LAC TOGO (OUR LADY OF LAKE TOGO)
Our Lady of Lake Togo, also known as Mother of Mercy, is a Marian shrine located in Togo, and inaugurated in November 1973 by Bishop Robert Casimir Dosseh-Anyron, who was at that time the Archbishop of Lomé. In building it, he wanted the faithful to have a place to practice Marian devotions. This site of worship attracts thousands of pilgrims each year, who come to pray, meditate and ask for the intercession of the Virgin Mary.
TRACING VARIOUS CONCEPTIONS OF MARY IN AFRICAN SPIRITUALITIES
This reflection aims to offer a framework for examining the theological patterns and gaps, along with tracing the colonial imprint of Mary, her place in Africa, and the reimagining of her role in our contemporary African society.
THE THREE YOUNG VISIONARIES AT KIBEHO
In the early 1980’s in Kibeho, Rwanda, three youngsters, Alphonsine Mumureke, Nathalie Mukamazimpaka and Marie Claire Mukangango, had a vision of Mother Mary.
HIGHLIGHTING THE ENDURING PLIGHT OF REFUGEE MOTHERS IN SA: HOW THE CHURCH STEPS IN
Africa Day is celebrated on May 25th. The author focuses on the reality of thousands of refugee women who, fleeing from various conflicts or having been victims of trafficking, courageously strive to find a home in South Africa. The Church responds actively to their need for integration into society.
HONOURING OUR MOTHER
The widespread Marian devotion has ancient origins. Mary, as the mother who gave Jesus to humanity, who cares for us and is a model of discipleship in her willingness to fulfil God’s plan, is deeply loved by generations of believers.
MY SOUL GLORIFIES THE LORD (LK 1:46-56)
The Magnificat, with which the Church concludes evening prayer each day, is the song of those who have experienced God’s salvation.
UNEXPECTED LESSONS ON A CROWDED BUS
During winter break a good number of scholastics travel home for a short holiday. I also decided to travel to the capital.
THE ROLE OF MARY IN THE VOCATION JOURNEY
In this special issue which discusses different Marian devotions in Africa, I thought of writing about the participation of Mother Mary in the discernment process of aspiring candidates for religious life.