A double celebration draws 3,000 faithful
On Sunday 5 October 2025, the Marian square outside Sacred-Heart Cathedral in Brazzaville was a sea of colour and song as roughly 3,000 worshippers gathered for a double celebration that blended pageantry, reflection and community pride, witnesses told local station Radio Magnificat.
- A double celebration draws 3,000 faithful
- Procession honours Mary, clergy assemble
- Officials and choirs add colour and dialogue
- Nine new deacons presented to the Church
- Voices of gratitude and financial transparency
- Archbishop’s civic call and Jubilee plans
- Music, marketplace and logistics
- Roadmap for hope in 2025-2026
- Streaming faith for a global audience
The Archdiocese of Brazzaville used the Twenty-seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time to ordain nine seminarians to the diaconate while formally opening the 2025-2026 pastoral year under the theme “Rooted in Christ, Builders of Hope”, a motto repeated on banners fluttering between palm trees and floodlights.
Procession honours Mary, clergy assemble
Archbishop Bienvenu Manamika Bafouakouahou presided, escorted by a long procession of altar servers carrying a statue of the Virgin Mary to honour the rosary month of October, a symbolic gesture that underscored the event’s Marian spirit and the local church’s affection for popular devotional practices.
Concelebrants included the secretary of the apostolic nunciature, seminary rectors, vicar general Vincent Massengo, and the provincial of the Sacramentine Fathers, forming a clerical front that reflected both the diversity and cohesion of Congo’s Catholic leadership, according to the archdiocesan newsletter Les Nouvelles de la Foi.
Officials and choirs add colour and dialogue
Government officials also joined the congregation, led by Environment Minister Arlette Soudan Nonault and several ambassadors, an attendance interpreted by analysts at Journal La Concorde as a sign of continuing dialogue between faith communities and public institutions on environmental stewardship and social cohesion.
Nine new deacons presented to the Church
Seven of the ordinands are diocesan candidates—Diafouka Fleubo Diornège, Malonga Exaucé Cardely, Mahoukou Messie Alfred, M’Boundi Georges Thalès, Nganga Clody Christ Venard, Ngoy Kinkela Milandou Exaucé Stéphane and Sehossolo Bemba Padre Pietro—while Benazo Beaudelaire Chevignon and Ngoudiabantou Christ Gabriel represent the Sacramentine order.
During his homily, Archbishop Manamika highlighted the “double sacredness” of the day, blending personal vocation and communal mission. He reminded the faithful of the four-day pastoral assembly held 1-4 October, where more than 400 delegates prayed and debated how parishes can extend hope through education, health outreach and sustainable development.
Moments later, silence fell as the nine lay prostrate and the Litany of the Saints echoed beneath the vaulted ceiling. The archbishop laid hands on each candidate before presenting the Book of the Gospels, a rite that marks the deacons as heralds of Christ’s word in schools, hospitals and prisons.
Voices of gratitude and financial transparency
Applause erupted when abbé Diafouka Fleubo spoke on behalf of the group, thanking formators and parents for “watering the seed of ministry”. His words resonated with many young spectators discerning their own paths, a dynamic that church sociologist Eugène Opango calls “the contagion of vocational joy”.
Financial transparency, another recurring theme, came through the presentation by diocesan bursar abbé Priva Mouanga, who outlined August collections and expenses. Parish contributions, he noted, have risen steadily despite economic pressures, a trend confirmed by the independent watchdog Observatoire de la Vie Écclesiale in its latest bulletin.
Archbishop’s civic call and Jubilee plans
Archbishop Manamika then invited prayers for the presidential election scheduled for March 2026 and for families hurt by recent violence in certain districts. His intervention, reported by daily Les Dépêches de Brazzaville, echoed the church’s long-standing commitment to civic peace without entering partisan debate.
Attention also turned to the memorial of Cardinal Émile Biayenda, martyred in 1977. The archbishop warned against the illegal occupation of the site and announced protective measures ahead of the golden jubilee planned for 2026, encouraging local entrepreneurs to propose respectful visitor facilities rather than speculative ventures.
Music, marketplace and logistics
Music remained a major draw. The diocesan choir Mgr Barthélemy Batantu blended traditional polyphony with Lingala refrains, while the Schola Populaire and Friends of Gregorian alternated Latin verses and hand drums, a fusion that ethnomusicologist Brice Ossengué sees as “a sonic bridge between cathedral solemnity and street festivity”.
Outside, vendors sold bottled water, palm-leaf rosaries and sachets of roasted peanuts, turning the boulevard into an informal fair. Yet gendarmes kept traffic flowing, and volunteer scouts guided seniors to shaded seats, small details that illustrated how faith events double as exercises in urban management and social solidarity.
Roadmap for hope in 2025-2026
As sunset painted the steeples gold, many lingered for selfies and quiet prayer, sensing that the new pastoral year had begun not only with ceremony but with a clear roadmap: grow deeper roots in Christ and build practical hope across Brazzaville’s parishes, classrooms, clinics and neighbourhood football pitches.
In the week ahead, the newly ordained will return to the parishes where they completed their pre-diaconal internships, ready to preach, baptize and coordinate youth programmes. Parish councils have already scheduled welcome masses and football matches, signalling a desire to see ministry expressed both at the altar and on streets.
Streaming faith for a global audience
Archdiocesan media services plan to stream the deacons’ first homilies, allowing diaspora believers in Pointe-Noire, Paris and Montreal to join virtually, a move communications director Sister Clarisse Okouya says will “keep our global family knitted together in the era of short videos and mobile screens”.
