US Catholics' donations help equip catechists in southern Africa to share the faith

(OSV News) -- In the heart of southern Africa, more than 200 catechists -- many of them laywomen -- are now equipped to share the Catholic faith, thanks to the generosity of fellow Catholics in the U.S.

"Their financial support was crucial in making the ongoing catechetical faith formation satellite seminars possible," Father John Mwengunga of the Diocese of Solwezi in Zambia told OSV News in an Aug. 20 email.

In July 2023, the diocese received just under $16,000 for its catechetical training program from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' Solidarity Fund for the Church in Africa.

The fund -- supported by an annual, voluntary diocesan collection that has been taken up in the U.S. for well over a decade every July and August -- grew out of the USCCB's 2001 statement, "A Call to Solidarity with Africa," a summons that was renewed by the nation's bishops in 2022.

Both documents -- inspired by St. John Paul II's 1995 apostolic exhortation "Ecclesia in Africa" ("The Church in Africa") and Africa's Catholic bishops -- highlight the spiritual richness of the African continent's Catholic faithful, as well as the challenges faced by their diverse nations, including conflict, natural disasters, poverty and population displacement.

By 2008, the USCCB had created a full Subcommittee on the Church in Africa, which works in partnership with Catholic Relief Services -- the bishops' official overseas humanitarian and development agency -- to avoid any duplication of efforts. The subcommittee is under the bishops' Committee on National Collections.

Archbishop Thomas R. Zinkula of Dubuque, Iowa, is chairman of the subcommittee.

In its 2023 annual report, the subcommittee stated that it had awarded 75 grants totaling more than $2.1 million for pastoral ministry.

The USCCB initiative focuses in particular on pastoral needs, reflecting the priorities of "Ecclesia in Africa," with grants coordinated directly through national bishops' conferences in Africa.

And those pastoral needs are growing, as sub-Saharan Africa has now replaced Europe as the locus for the world's Christians, due to both higher birth rates and Western Europe's widespread Christian disaffiliation, according to a June report from Pew Research Center, produced in collaboration with the John Templeton Foundation.

Data showed that in sub-Saharan Africa, the overall population grew 31% to 1.1 billion from 2010-2020, with most people (62%) in the region identifying as Christians, said Pew.

The report also noted that the region's younger demographics and higher fertility rates drove religious growth among all groups except for Jews, with the entire region accounting for "most of the increase in Christian numbers, globally."

Father Mwengunga, who serves as the diocese's monitoring and evaluation officer, shared that the funds his program received, augmented by monies from his diocese, enabled the transportation and training of "223 catechists and prayer leaders, who are essential for spreading the faith in their communities."

The four weeklong workshops that comprised the program -- led by priests selected by Solwezi Bishop Charles J. Kasonde and the diocesan catechetical steering committee coordinator -- "helped to deepen the faith and devotion of these lay ministers, and improved their ability to explain Catholic teachings," said Father Mwengunga.

The USCCB collection "helped to address the challenge of limited financial resources, allowing the diocese to provide transportation, accommodation, and food for all participants," he said.

Importantly, "the seminars were conducted in native languages" -- Luvale, Lunda and Kaonde -- "which made the formation accessible to those who might not have otherwise received it," said Father Mwengunga.

Asked by OSV News if he had a message for U.S. Catholics, Father Mwengunga added, "Based on the activities we implemented, you could tell (them) that their contributions through the Church in Africa Collection directly supported the Catholic Diocese of Solwezi's mission of integral evangelization."