Archbishop José de Queirós Alves, a retired member of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Redemptorists – CSsR), manifested dedicated commitment in his Episcopal Ministry, which he lived with a missionary zeal, the Local Ordinary of Angola’s Catholic Archdiocese of Huambo has said about his immediate predecessor.
In his homily during the Priestly and Diaconate ordination at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Parish of Huambo Archdiocese on August 4, Archbishop Zeferino Zeca Martins called upon the Deacons-elect and the Priests-elect to emulate Archbishop Alves, the Archbishop emeritus of Huambo, who started his Episcopal Ministry as Bishop of Angola’s Menongue Diocese.
Archbishop Alves, he said, is a “model of dedication, having left behind the comforts of Europe to serve in Angola, enduring the hardships of war and the challenges of missionary work.”
“Look at the example of life and missionary zeal of your elders in the Congregation,” Archbishop Zeca told the three Priests-elect and six Deacons-elect, Redemptorists.
He continued, “Archbishop José de Queiroz Alves, a Portuguese missionary, came early to the mission, working tirelessly in the Diocese of Menongue and here in Huambo. He suffered through wars, visited the imprisoned, and continued to serve even in his advanced age.”
Reflecting on the seven decades of the Redemptorists’ presence in Angola, Archbishop Zeca acknowledged the “significant contributions” of the Congregation members as well as their “steadfast commitment to evangelization and human development in the region.”
“The 70 years of the Redemptorist missionaries in Angola have borne great fruit. However, the mission is not over; it continues,” the SVD Archbishop said, and added, “We must do much more to ensure that every human being, created by God, is treated with dignity.”
He encouraged Redemptorists in Angola to continue their mission with “renewed vigour, adapting their evangelization strategies to meet the evolving needs of the Angolan people.”
Archbishop Zeca expressed his appreciation for the Redemptorists’ dedicated commitment to the mission of Christ, particularly in Menongue, where they were often the only Religious Order.
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Article by João Vissesse
