Denver Catholic

4 MARCH 10-23, 2018 | DENVER CATHOLIC Cover Story Sundays: Kids Eat FREE / Tilapia Tuesdays: $1.00 per piece / Wednesdays: Senior Discount! Open: Sun-Thur 11 a.m. - 9 p.m., Fri & Sat 11 a.m. - 10 p.m. Get Your Fish Here On Fridays British Style Fish & Chips www.gbfishandchips.com 1311 S. Broadway Denver, CO 80210 720-570-5103 2175 Sheridan (Sloan's Lake) Edgewater, CO 80214 303-232-2128 5325 E. Colfax Denver, CO 80220 303-333-4551 7401 Ralston Rd. Arvada, CO 80003 303-420-9897 A r c h b i s h o p A q u i l a recently spoke with the Denver Catholic about his trip, which he described as an "intimate encounter with the joy-fi lled faith that is found in Africa." The interview has been edited for conciseness and clarity. DENVER CATHOLIC: What did you do in Tanzania? ARCHBISHOP AQUILA: We visited Christ the King Parish and dedi- cated a new administration building and library for the high school that [Immaculate Heart of Mary] parish helped to build. We also visited the Diocese of Geita to see Bishop [Flavian] Kassala. Then we visited an orphanage, some of the outposts and a hospital facility. DC: What most struck you about the trip? AA: What was outstanding was the faith of the people and the depth of their faith. Many of them would walk an hour to two to get to Mass. Often- times, the Masses would last any- where from two to four hours, with all the singing and the music and the o¦ ertory processions. For the o¦ ertory processions, every person would come up and drop something into the collection basket. Then there would be a second o¦ er- tory procession, where the people would bring gifts from their homes or from their farms. It might be a chicken or a goat, or bags of cement, or sugar cane. It might be a small bag of beans, but something. Not every- one would do that, but there would be over 100 people who would. Then there were people who would distribute it. Some of the livestock would go to the orphanage to feed the children. The cement might go to a project for an outstation or for the school or the parish. It was a fantastic experience. DC: Tell me about the people's lifestyle. AA: The people live very simply. They live in simple housing and many of them still have dirt fl oors. Some of them have electricity, but not all of them. The people still have to go to wells for their water. DC: What did you learn on the trip? AA: I learned about the depth of the faith of the people, the beauty of their faith and about their love for the Church. Their willingness to walk one or two hours one way to Mass spoke volumes about their commitment to the Gospel and their real love for the Eucharist. I got to celebrate the sacrament of confi rmation with one group and also to visit one of their small faith com- munities. Listening to their witness talks and learning how deep the faith really is there was just an incredible experience. DC: What would you like people to know about Tanzania? AA: Certainly about the beauty of Africa, and the strength of family life there, the hospitality of the people, their warmth and their generosity— they are an extremely generous people. DC: What are you taking away from this experience? AA: The experience of the universal- ity of the Church. Also, the beauty of the African people — their generosity, kindness and personability — and the natural beauty of Africa itself. There is so much natural beauty one sees there. That always brings you to God. DC: Is there anything you would like to add? AA: I would go back in a heartbeat. Africa is a wonderful place to visit, especially if you want to see the wit- ness of strong family life and of a deeply lived faith, and of th e way we are united in one faith as Catholics with another country very di¦ erent from ours. DC: What can Catholics here learn from their brothers and sisters in Africa? AA: They can learn from their example of living their faith out and making great sacrifi ces for it. One can see their commitment in a willing- ness to walk an hour or two to Mass. Also, their generosity with the very little that they have. Each person would come forward and drop some- thing into the collection basket—that was a real, living sign of them giving themselves to the Father. The music during the Mass was absolutely spectacular. They sang with their hearts; that was just really, really powerful—just giving that praise and adoration to God. It was absolutely incredible. Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila witnessed deep faith and joy during fi rst visit to Tanzania «

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