«With our baptism, we are all missionaries, sent and witnesses of the Gospel of Christ and we must act without fear and without shame,» said His Exc. Mgr. Alexis Touably Youlo, Bishop of Agboville and Apostolic Administrator of Yamoussoukro, during the opening Mass of the Extraordinary Missionary Month in the Ivory Coast.
Mgr. Youlo in the homily of the Mass which he presided at the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, in front of thousands of faithful, declared that mission is «a requirement of our baptism» and therefore concerns everyone, reported Fides News Agency.
At the Mass for the launch of the Extraordinary Missionary Month in the Ivory Coast was attended by Fr. Luca Marabese, in charge of the Apostolic Nunciature in the Country and the diocesan Directors of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS).
Fr. Jean Noel Gossou, National Director of the PMS in the Ivory Coast at the end of the Mass invited the diocesan Directors to carry out activities with a specific creative spirit in their dioceses: «now that the Extraordinary Missionary Month has begun, dear brothers, find spaces in your dioceses where your faithful can fully experience this month of grace».
The diocesan Directors, therefore, worked in this direction; «In the diocese of Abengourou, the Extraordinary Missionary Month will be lived for a whole year», Fr Antoine Aka Tiémélé told Fides, specifying that the prayer of the missionary month is recited every day after the prayer of the rosary and the Sunday after the universal prayer.
As a prelude to the opening Mass of the Extraordinary Missionary Month in the Ivory Coast, on Saturday 5 October 2019, at the diocesan center of Yamoussoukro under the guidance of the national PMS, a training session in missiology was held for priests and catechists of the archdiocese of Yamoussoukro, animated by His Exc. Mgr. Marcelin Yao Kouadio, Bishop of Daloa, President of the Bishops’ Commission for the Evangelization of the Poor, expert in missiology.
