Visitors from Mount Saint Mary's University - Part 4 - Congregation of the Resurrection 2024

The Feast of Corpus Christi (The Body and Blood of Christ) was celebrated during the Mount visit. This is a big feast in Tanzania, complete with a procession in which hundreds of people participated.

We were trying to think about ways that our Mount visitors could “really” see the people and their lives in Tanzania. Fr. Yohana and I came up with the idea of visiting the sick. He and I did this many times when I was in Buhemba. I was able to see the vast countryside and to experience the lives of people who live in very isolated circumstances. We made two teams. Each team visited about 8 people, walking about 8 miles.

We traveled some vast distances, jumping over creeks (and, unfortunately for my group, walking through a larger creek), trapsing through corn fields, meeting many cows and goats, and greeting some very sick and isolated people.

Fr. Jim Donohue, C.R. and his associate pastor, Fr. Charles Strauss, C.R. We tried to make a pathway across this creek…it turned out not to be very successful. The young man in the background is Patrice, who is one of our Resurrection candidates. He is from the Buhemba parish. At our first stop, a man gave me a chicken and poor Patrice had to carry the chicken for about 8 miles that day!

The people we visited were overjoyed to see us. I was wondering if too many people would seem “too much,” but people said that they were honored and amazed to have so many visitors. For most people, I heard their confession and then I anointed them. This was followed by a short communion service in which everyone participated.

It was a typical hot day, and we were all very tired by the time the day was over. Having said this, many of us thought that it was the best day of our whole trip to Tanzania. We were able to see the breathless countryside. We were able to see the poverty in which so many people live. We were able to see the joy and the hospitality they extended toward us.