The joyful entrance hymn sung in the Zulu language of Southern Africa and in English, “We Are Marching in the Light of God,” set the tone for the ninth annual Africa Day Mass on Aug. 20 at Mother Seton Church in Germantown, Maryland.
Moments earlier, parishioners wearing traditional African dress in vibrant colors and patterns had marched to the altar in a parade of nations, carrying flags and holding signs from African countries including Nigeria, Cameroon, Kenya, Benin, Senegal, Malawi, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Liberia, Togo, Gambia, the Ivory Coast and Tanzania, and also Haiti and the United States.
A standing-room congregation of more than 800 people filled the church for the annual event organized by the parish’s Africa Union 55 group. The altar and ambo were draped in kente cloth.
Washington Cardinal Wilton Gregory was the main celebrant at the Mass, and the concelebrants included Father Lee Fangmeyer, Mother Seton’s pastor, and seven priests with roots in Africa.
“Thank you for the opportunity to pray with this wonderfully diverse and loving family,” the cardinal said at the beginning of Mass.
The 15-voice choir representing different African nations sang the “Lord Have Mercy” in Igbo, a Nigerian language, and they sang “Alleluia” accompanied by drums as two ladies swayed gently while walking in a Bible procession to the altar, followed by a woman carrying a basket and a man wearing a traditional outfit from Togo. As the procession moved forward, some women in the congregation did ululation, a high pitched vocal sound formed by rapid tongue movements.
After the first reading from the prophet Isaiah, the congregation recited the responsorial psalm from Psalm 67 that reflected the spirit of the gathering, “O God, let all the nations praise you.”
In his homily, Cardinal Gregory emphasized the importance of seeing the face of Jesus in others and reflecting Jesus’s face to the world.
Noting God’s openheartedness, the cardinal said Catholics are “challenged and reminded to love in the same way that God loves, to see Jesus’s face in all of God’s people – especially the poor, the marginalized, the immigrant and the neglected.”
He added, “It is not enough to listen to the great compassion of God, to hear the Lord’s own desire to welcome and love all men and women. The Church listens to the living Word because the Church herself is called to love in just that very same way. Our hearts are intended to be as open as the heart of God Himself. That is why the Church is Catholic, because God’s love is catholic, universal, open and unrestrained.”
The cardinal underscored that “God’s love draws no boundaries, demands no precondition and establishes no limits… Our Catholic Church is called to be a great sacrament of the love of God.”
Cardinal Gregory noted that the annual Africa Day Mass offered an opportunity to recognize and honor members of the parish who come from a wide variety of African nations.
“We praise God for them as well as for all those who hail from countries in Europe, Asia, Latin and Central America, the Pacific rim and each corner of our globe,” he said. “…The very rich human and cultural composition of our archdiocese and indeed of this parish itself must be a living reminder that God’s holy face, Jesus’s image, is to be found in all our neighborhoods and in all our neighbors, and not just in religious pictures or statues, no matter how venerable or cherished, but equally important, we ourselves are to reflect and to display that same face of Christ for all the world to see and to behold.”
Concluding his homily, the cardinal said it was a privilege for him to once again celebrate the Africa Day Mass at Mother Seton Church, and he joked that “I know I have to wear my best vestments, because you’re dressed to kill!”
On a serious note, he added, “What a great thing it is to belong to a Church that welcomes everyone and reflects the face of Christ in all of its many and very beautiful expressions.”
Prayers of the faithful were then offered in English and French and in the African languages of Swahili, Igbo, Yoruba, Lingala and Luganda.
After Communion, more than 100 of the African Catholics joined a traditional Thanksgiving procession to the altar, where priests sprinkled holy water on them as the choir sang a medley of joyful praise songs.
Addressing the congregation, Father Fangmeyer said, “No matter where we come from, no matter what part of the world, we all recognize the truth and the fulfillment that comes from faith in Jesus Christ. It’s so beautiful how this is expressed in so may ways.”
Mother Seton’s pastor praised the vibrant faith shown by the parish’s African Union 55 group and its African parishioners. “I’ve been struck by the joy of this community. Thank you for lifting up our entire parish and helping us to grow in our faith.”
Shirley Uyakonwu, the chair of the executive committee of Mother Seton’s Africa Union 55 group, said the gathering’s theme – “One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism” from Ephesians 4:5 – reflected the strong faith that African Catholics offer to the Church and the world.
“Our faith is of utmost importance to us as Africans… it’s the glue that holds us together in good times and in the challenging times of our lives. Christ is the center,” Uyakonwu said.
She added that the group and its annual gathering started from a feeling of nostalgia that Africans have for their homelands, but it has expanded in scope to support the parish’s work of sharing the faith. “This evangelization is a way of spreading the Good News and joy,” she said.
Uyakonwu, who is from Nigeria, concluded her remarks at the end of Mass by saying thank you in the three major languages of Africa – Swahili, English and French.
The Mass was followed by a reception featuring music, food, fashion and cultural displays from the African continent.
