Catholic Tradition in Africa, #10 - Society of St. Pius X

2012 - No 10
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beautiful and solid mission, so that it can be a model for the
other countries.”
But, all the same, don't forget that from Gabon we have
occasionally visited Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, Benin,
Ghana, Ivory Coast and even Senegal! Personally, I have
been to all the countries of Western Africa.
In Gabon the SSPX Mission at Four-Place is in a village
about 150 km from Libreville. There had never been a
Catholic church in this village. Priests had not been there for
over 30 years. The Archbishop of Libreville had never set
foot in the village. So the Catholics, feeling handicapped and
abandoned, came to see us one day to ask us: “come take
care of us,” – which we did. Fr. Damian Carlile took care of
this apostolate in the wilderness, beginning under the metal
roof of a poor little hut on the side of the road where he had
to stop preaching whenever a logging truck passed by. The
faithful flocked in ever greater numbers to this shack where
we said Mass.
Then one day, the Priest from the neighbouring village came,
and the Archbishop of Libreville as well, to discredit and
speak against us! The faithful were moved. They believed the
Archbishop. The local priest promised them the moon and
the stars and said that he would take care of them every
Sunday, etc. So the faithful told us: “Ok, the local priest is
going to come, so don't bother coming anymore.” That
lasted four or five Sundays . . . and then they were again
abandoned. After six months of waiting, a new delegation
of the faithful from Four Place, scandalised and unhappy,
came to see us, saying: “Father, forgive us. You must come
back. The Archbishop spoke to us against you. We've been
tricked. He and the local priest lied to us.” I, in turn, sent a
delegation from our mission to see if they were serious, and,
indeed, the village chief welcomed them very well. They
came back saying, “Father, it is true! And they will give you
some land, so you can go.” So I went back, and there was the
whole village waiting to greet me. They gave me land on
which there were only ruins, and on which we built the
church that is there today – St. Patrick's Church, because the
day we had the meeting was March 17th.
Now we have been there for over 12 years. The village has
about 700 habitants and covers about 7 km2. It is very
scattered. The villagers are banana planters, and since there
is very little land, they are obliged to spread out farther and
farther for their plantations. So much so, that the priest who
takes care of this chapel (on top of every Sunday) now goes
The Chapel fully packed
for Sunday High Mass
every three weeks and spends four days in the presbytery
“St. James's House” at Four-Place, which we built in the
village. From there, he also celebrates Mass and teaches
catechism up to about 30 km away in the forest area of
Rembwé.
I could also mention the vocations that Gabon has already
given to Tradition: four priests in the Society of St Pius X;
three brothers, four nuns (two Society sisters, one “Si si No
no” sister in Italy, and one at the “Le Rafflay” in France. That
makes 11 vocations! And it's not over. . . more young people
are getting ready to enter!
TCA: Father, after 23 years as a missionary in Gabon,
you have just made a quick visit to Libreville. What
message would you give to the Gabonese today?
Fr. Groche: First, to thank God, because the Gabonese
have been blessed these past 25 years that we have been
there. Eight priests are always at their service: four at the
mission and four at the school, as well as three brothers and
five sisters! And the school, the “Juvénat du Sacré Coeur”,
Sacred Heart School, for primary and lower secondary
school (which unfortunately goes only to ninth grade) has
for 18 years been directed by a real master, Fr. Patrick
Duverger, who, with the help of his colleagues, has truly
given everything he had to the task. It is a heavy cross to lead
a school, and especially in an equatorial climate like Gabon!
After 25 years, I think that the Gabonese can give thanks to
God for all He has done for them. What God has not yet
done in Cameroon, what He has not yet done in the Ivory
Coast, what He has not yet done in Senegal, He has done in
Libreville! It is as if it were a repetition of what happened
back in the day when the first Holy Ghost missionaries
arrived in these lands. Fr. Libermann sent the first
missionaries to this area and Fr. Bessieux arrived in
Libreville. Afterwards, from Libreville, the missionaries left
for Cameroon, Congo, and the other countries. They even
went through Libreville to go to Kenya in the east of Africa:
for Kenya was evangelised by the French Holy Ghost
Fathers while it was still an English colony. Libreville was, so
to speak, the crossroads of central and western Africa.
The same thing could happen again with future Traditional
Catholic works, as will soon be the case in Nigeria and
Cameroon, God willing. Indeed, this 25th anniversary
should be one of true and profound thanksgiving for the
Fr Patrick Groche’s
farewell Blessing