BUJUMBURA November 9th (ABP) – The Spirit of Wisdom University Parish of Mutanga South celebrated its 25th Silver Jubilee on Saturday, November 6, 2021, a check on the site by ABP has revealed.
The ceremonies, organized under the theme: “Let us build the church-family by possessing the word of God, by reading it and by putting it into practice”, saw the participation of the Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Bujumbura, Mgr Gervais Banshimiyubusa, the former Archbishop of Bujumbura, Mgr Evariste Ngoyagoye, the priests, the Minister in charge of the Interior, Mr. Gervais Ndirakobuca, the professors of the University of Burundi, the Catholic students of the University of Burundi as well as the Christians of that parish.
Those ceremonies began with a mass of thanksgiving during which Bishop Banshimiyubusa, in his homily, indicated that the celebration of the jubilee is a
sign which shows that the Christians of the said parish already constitute a family.
For him, it is also an opportunity to self-assess so that the Spirit of Wisdom enlightens them in order to walk in the unity and love of God and to promote the development of the church-family where Christians are invited to be strengthened in the faith and to be witnesses of Christ.
On that occasion, the Archbishop of Bujumbura called on Christians in that parish in general and university Christians in particular to love Mass and put the word of God into practice. He further invited them to be supporters of justice and to avoid all forms of division, but rather to promote unity in their diversity even if they will have the chance to hold high office or to be in positions of power of decision-making bodies of the country. It was also an opportunity to invite them to contribute to the development of the Spirit of Wisdom parish, which is still young.
For his part, the parish priest of the said parish, Father Dieudonné Niyibizi, indicated that in 1996, the then Archbishop of Bujumbura, Mgr Simon Ntamwana, appointed Father Adrien Ntabona as pastor of the university parish. Spirit of Wisdom to help the students of the University of Burundi and the Christians of the surrounding districts, including South Mutanga, Mugoboka and Sororezo in their Christian life. Moreover, he stressed, this parish is not like the other parishes of the diocese of Bujumbura because, he said, it is largely made up of university Christians who vary after three years. Some of those live-in other parishes such as Kiriri Campus, Rohero Campus and Kamenge Campus, added Father Niyibizi. The parish does not have a branch like other parishes, which is a challenge because Christians who come from Mugoboka and Sororezo need a branch, he continued. He thus invited Christians, friends and partners of the parish to make this project their own.
Father Niyibizi did not forget to point out the undeniable role of students of Catholicism from the University of Burundi in the various actions of the parish, including participating in Catholic action movements and choirs, their intervention towards the sick and the poor.
One of the teachers of the University of Burundi, Mr. Siméon Barumwete, also praised the existence of the university parish Esprit de Sagesse which, he said, helped the students of the University of Burundi in their Christian life. He specified that the latter manifested it in the difficult times that the University of Burundi went through during the years 1995.