After fifteen years, he returns to his homeland. He shares his feelings and plans for the future after a year as a parish priest.
My name is Father José A. Intuela Sagras, a Comboni Missionary from Mozambique. I was ordained priest in May 2014. My first assignment was in Chad, where I lived for nine years. In June 2023 I returned to Mozambique and was assigned to the parish of São Francisco Xavier de Benfica, on the outskirts of Maputo, the capital. Although I had not expected it, I welcomed this new ministry. Although I had never been away from parish ministry, in Chad I was mainly involved in vocational promotion and formation.
A month later, I arrived at Benfica to begin my service and was surprised by the enormous generosity of the parishioners. Not only had they mobilised to renovate my room and buy several sets of sheets, but they had also prepared a welcome cake for me.
I felt the warmth of the welcome that we Africans appreciate so much. The people were very happy because they had not had a regular priest since 2020. I saw the joy on their faces and I said to myself: “Lord, will I be able to live up to the expectations of these people who have put their trust in me? Countless times during the months I have been here, I have entrusted myself to the Lord to help me be a good pastor.
During this time, I was able to meet all the heads of the different ministries and sectors and understand the reality on the ground. I felt like a moving train and I tried to get used to what went on. The people and my Comboni brothers helped me a lot during this time. It is true that I am Mozambican, but I have lived outside my country for more than 15 years, and I come from Quelimane, a city in the centre of the country, so I knew little of the reality of Maputo. In fact, I still have great difficulties with languages.
Here they speak mostly Changana and Ronga, two languages that are very similar but very different from the ones I use, so I am working hard to learn them because I am convinced that the Gospel must be proclaimed in the language of the people. In any case, we use Portuguese in the formation meetings and in the liturgy, although we do some readings in Changana and Ronga.
Little by little I took note and identified the main challenges in catechesis, liturgy and the formation of pastoral workers, children, adolescents, young people and couples. We have monthly parish councils and we focus on the areas where we propose improvements. At the end of last year, we held a general parish assembly, where we were all able to take stock of the activities that had been carried out and those that had not been completed, as well as identifying the difficulties that have now become pastoral priorities.
One of these, perhaps the most important, is the organisation of catechesis. I have decided to follow its development closely and to encourage catechists to continue to work for the formation of convinced and persuaded Christians. In the context of the liturgy, we have introduced some gestures in favour of the beauty and harmony of our Eucharistic celebrations, and we have also planned retreats at important moments, such as Advent, Lent and other important feasts.
I cannot forget that we live in a very young country, where children, adolescents and young people are numerous and face many difficulties, both spiritual and social, and it is necessary to accompany them. In this sense, we realised that it could be very helpful to have a structure where they could meet and interact with each other. We saw that sport has an enormous power to unite and we created a simple multi-sports field. The aim is not only to practise sport, but also to attract young people and then propose activities for their human, social and spiritual growth.
At this stage of my missionary life, as the first Comboni Parish Priest of Mozambican origin in the Parish of St Francis Xavier, I feel a great responsibility but also a great joy. Through the mistakes of each day, I am learning to be a parish priest, trying to spread joy and help in every way possible. (Photo. P. Intuela Sagras, standing – fourth from the right – with a group of young people from the parish of São Francisco Xavier, in Benfica. Maputo)
