The Sacred Heart of Jesus parish is located in the southwest of Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This parish is within the territory of Tshela, the town seat of the Bas-fleuve district in the Bas-Congo province. The parish is about 40 miles from the Tshela Center, in a village called Vaku. It was founded by Missionhurst-CICM in 1910. A centennial celebration was held there in 2011, where parishioners unveiled a beautiful icon they had created in front of the main entrance to commemorate the event.
My CICM vocation basically began in this parish. I was teaching in the elementary school near the parish in 1990, and I used to see Fr. Cyrille Buillon; he was the last CICM priest to work in the parish. He was in his seventies when I met him, but still active in both the education and the pastoral work of the parish. When he left, the local vocation group accompanied him, relocating to the CICM community in Kangu. Fr. Buillon was like a paternal father, especially to those who were in the vocation group. When he left Vaku, many wanted to follow him. When Fr. Buillion moved to the CICM community of Kangu, he joined his nephew, Fr. Cyrille Noel, who was also a CICM. The latter is the one who encouraged me and gave me the wisdom to live this missionary life. Many thanks to him!
During my 2012 home leave, I chose to stay in the parish at Vaku for a few days. Two diocesan priests and a deacon welcomed me. I realized quickly that the parish had changed dramatically since I left. It had grown to now include a legion of Mary group, many choirs, and several outstations. The church itself is built on a hill and, when seen from the distance, appears like a large tent in the middle of the village. Area locals come to draw from the parish water tank: connected through an innovative system of pipes to another tank at a stream more than three miles away. The closest surrounding buildings are the Ntima Kia elementary school and a former cacao and natural rubber producing company. There is a second Vaku elementary school, which faces the front door of the church. Behind the church there is Ntima Kia secondary school and, nearby, there is the convent of the St. Vincent of Paul sisters who run the school and the hospital. Between the church and the hospital there is a small market, and the rest of the area is dotted with small living quarters for the local teachers, nurses, doctors and other workers.
Life in the parish and its surroundings is very frugal. Sunday offerings amount to less than $20 US dollars per mass, with 20% of the collections going directly to the diocesan treasury office each month. The prevailing low-income existence here renders most parishioners scarcely able to contribute. But there are people of good will who routinely offer fruit and other crops to sustain the local church leaders. One man called Papa Nzuzi has a big garden where he grows various things; he usually offers row vegetable to the priests. He worked with some of CICM fathers in the past, and has a good memory of our confreres. In fact, Papa Nzuzi was happy to see me, and would be glad to see more CICM members visit.
The Saint Vincent sisters who run the school and the hospital are concerned about the state of the buildings. The structures of both of the schools are no longer in good shape. Sooner or later major repairs will be needed, and the income in those entities is not promising. One the nuns in charge of the school, Sister Veronica Mundela, asked me to share a bit about the situation in my mission country. After hearing my story, she realized that we too are facing the same problem. The question for so many fundamentally necessary, charitable and religious organizations is how to survive with little income. We agreed that creativity and external assistance are often a necessary part of the solution.
As we further discussed the Church, the missions, and the generosity of good people, a couple of the other nuns and priests joined our conversation. It became somewhat of a brainstorming session on the financial aspects of supporting vital projects and institutions. As I reflected on my impressions of coming back to Vaku, the idea of promoting the parish as a pilgrimage location began to take shape. It seemed to me that there were many features of the place that could attract, accommodate, and generate a spiritual interest from Catholics and non-Catholics alike. I thought perhaps the parish and community could benefit from promoting Vaku as a destination for visiting, meditation, or other group activities.
For this part of the world, the village of Vaku does indeed possess several attractive features. Not the least of which may be the exciting nearby site of the almost unknown hot springs in Nkukutu village. Sister Veronica recommended that I visit the hot springs so, one day during my visit, we rented a motorcycle and made to journey from Vaku to Nkukutu. There were many people heading to Nkukutu for a wedding that day, so it took us about an hour to get there. Nonetheless, I was very excited about visiting a hot spring for the first time. The village of Nkukutu is close to the Lufuzi stream, where people go daily to bathe in well-arranged locations, and to take water for their cooking. I could see that there were large areas where the water looked different from the stream water, and those turned out to be the areas of the hot spring. I touched the water, as did the nun who accompanied me, and realized that it really was warmer! Hot springs are indeed a very rare thing to see in the region. As I enjoyed the experience, I couldn’t help but think of the springs as yet another unique destination to be experienced by visitors to Vaku. Perhaps our budding notion of an income-generating retreat spot would bear fruit for this wonderful enclave of faithful workers in the vineyard.
When my brief visit drew to a close, I began to reflect on the collaboration I had enjoyed during my time in Vaku, with the good people of the Sacred Heart of Jesus parish. Even though it is not my home parish, it remains my favorite place. Its dearness to me reminds me of the psalmist’s words: “His foundation is on holy mountains, The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than any dwelling in Jacob. Glorious things are said of you, O city of God!” (Ps 87:1-3)
My Vaku pilgrimage was indeed invigorating and restorative; it brought me back to my roots as a missionary. It also reminded me that the missionary spirit is driven by challenge. Whether it’s the church in my native Africa, or my mission station thousands of miles away in Asia, there are a myriad of situations that require our creative abilities. But it is in God’s image that we were created—from the Master Creator we have come. God lovingly designed us to be creative as well, and through grace and collaboration we will continue to find ways to share the Good News of the gospel with the world.
Omer Mbudi, cicm
Taipei, Taiwan
Fr. Omer Mbudi, cicm, is a native of the Bas-Congo district of the Democratic Republic of Congo who joined Missionhurst-CICM in 1993, and was ordained in 2003. Though Fr. Omer currently works in the archdiocese of Tapei in Taiwan, he writes about his experience on a recent trip to Bas-Congo.
