SUDAN: Catechists operating in violent Sudanese areas that priests fled

A Missionary working in war-torn Sudan has praised catechists filling a void once filled by priests in an area he himself fled.

Father Jorge Naranjo, a Spanish missionary in Port Sudan, recently revisited the country’s violence-ravaged capital Khartoum to support an archbishop on a papal visit.

The Comboni missionary, who was displaced from the capital by the conflict, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN): “The vast metropolitan area of Khartoum, which before the war had eight million inhabitants and 23 parishes, is currently served by only three priests – two diocesans and one Comboni missionary.

“The pastoral vacuum has given the catechists a central role, it is they who keep the Faith alive through Sunday liturgies of the Word. They are the true pillars of the Church here.”

Fr Naranjo was able to return to witness the changes during a visit by Archbishop Séamus Patrick Horgan to the area.

Archbishop Horgan, the Apostolic Nuncio to South Sudan, began a 10-day diplomatic mission on 11th September through the regions most badly affected by the current civil war in Sudan to share a message of solidarity from Pope Leo.

Khartoum has become the epicentre of the current conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces – much of the city was under siege for several months.

Fr Naranjo said the nuncio celebrated Mass in several parishes in the outlying areas of Khartoum, where a large part of the population originally from the centre of the capital have relocated.

He said the centre of the city is now “devastated and empty”, after masses of people resettled in the surrounding areas such as Mayo, Haj Yousif, Jabarona and Masalma in Omdurman.

Fr Naranjo said the nuncio was able to experience “the difficult situation of the community” thanks to aid from the Sudanese government, who facilitated his journey along damaged roads and past military checkpoints.

The archbishop visited the Christian communities in Shendi, Omdurman and Atbara, a city on the bank of the Nile, to where Archbishop Michael Didi of Khartoum temporarily relocated when the war began in 2023.

In Port Sudan, where the nuncio ended his mission, Archbishop Horgan met with high-ranking politicians such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister of Religious Affairs and the Director of Intelligence.

Besides thanking the government for its role in the evacuation of the Salesian sisters who were stranded in the Al-Shajara neighbourhood of Khartoum for months, the Vatican diplomat stressed the importance of respecting the rights of the country’s Christian minority.

Fr Naranjo said: “The nuncio’s visit carried a word of encouragement from the Pope to the Sudanese people and gave hope to the community in the midst of this conflict.”

With thanks to Maria Lozano