Archbishop Blair to Join Local Catholics at African National Eucharistic Congress in Washington, D.C.

Story by Shelley Wolf

Archbishop Leonard P. Blair and a contingent of Black and African Catholics from parishes in the Archdiocese of Hartford are heading to Washington, D.C.

This Friday, July 21, as many as 38 local Catholics will travel by bus, leaving from St. Justin-St. Michael Church in Hartford, on a pilgrimage to the “Fourth African National Eucharistic Congress.” The Congress, to be held July 21 to 23, will take place at the Catholic University of America and will include a Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

This is the first year the archdiocese is attending the Congress.

“By the diocese creating this personal communication and aggressively supporting Black and African Catholics, it will help with the ministry of the Catholic Church and keep these parishes growing,” says Arturo Iriarte, director of the Office of Faith and Culture, who is helping to coordinate the trip.

Local participants, he says, are going primarily from three parishes: St. Justin-St. Michael Parish, the Cathedral of St. Joseph Parish in Hartford and St. Isaac Jogues Ghanaian Catholic Quasi Parish in East Hartford.

The African National Eucharistic Congress takes place once every five years. It’s an initiative of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishop’s (USCCB) Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church and its Subcommittee on Pastoral Care of Migrants, Refugees and Travelers. There are two additional co-sponsors.

Organizers of the Congress say their priority is investing in the next generation of African faithful and creating missionary disciples here in the United States.

They are striving to give African Catholics in the U.S. an opportunity to gather together, to experience mutual support and share their faith and rich heritage. This year’s theme is “A Response to the Lord’s Prayer: ‘That They May All Be One.’”

According to Iriarte, the Congress will unite Black and African Catholics from many different cultural heritages in the archdiocese under one roof, supporting them in their shared faith. Some are from families that have lived in Connecticut for generations, while others are recent immigrants.

“We’re excited to express our faith in the Lord and evangelize with our African culture, and to learn from the themes and new programs the Mother Church has for us,” says Father Paul Baffuor-Awuah, pastor of St. Isaac Jogues Ghanaian Catholic Quasi Parish, who will be accompanying 14 members from his parish on the trip.

Many of his congregants have arrived solely from Ghana in recent years. Yet he notes he is especially looking forward “to meeting all the representatives of the congregations from Africa at one location and worshipping together.”

Father Mathieu Isaac, pastor of St. Justin-St. Michael Parish, will be traveling with 17 parishioners. His congregation includes people from the Caribbean islands, African-Americans and Hispanics.

Highlights of the Congress will include an Opening Mass with the main celebrant, Most Rev. Jerome Feudjio, bishop of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and Episcopal liaison for African Catholics; a keynote address by Cardinal Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, D.C.; a “United in the Eucharist Procession” led by Most Rev. Andrew H. Cozzens, bishop of Crookston, Minn.; and a closing Unity Mass to be held at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.

Additionally, the gathering will encompass a women’s retreat, a workshop for youths, workshops on the Eucharist, the rosary, Eucharistic Adoration and an all-night vigil.