The Mission in Guinea-Bissau

Tell us how you met the CPPS missionaries and how you joined the Congregation.

I met the Missionaries through the Adorers of the Blood of Christ Sisters, in particular Sister Espéria, in 1997 in Ingoré. My uncle Homero Missau served in the mission. I entered the CPPS seminary in Bissau on September 29, 2001. In 1999 and 2000 I underwent vocational discernment.

What caught your attention and captivated you?

Sister Espéria spoke often about St. Gaspar del Bufalo, his mission, and his relationship with the poor. Given the poverty in Guinea-Bissau, I realized the Congregation could do a great deal of good here. Then, I was struck by the fact that the first CPPS missionaries came and embraced this environment of poverty. And also, the mission of "going where nobody wants to go": for example, we would cycle more than 40km along dirt roads to reach the most isolated and impoverished villages and establish schools there.

I was also captivated by the communal lifestyle: there was no distance between priests and those discerning their vocation. We planned together and worked together.

What is the situation like for the people of Guinea-Bissau?

It is a time of constant political, social, and economic instability. Currently, we are living in a situation of injustice, fear, and little freedom of expression. But people are joyful and hopeful. The Church is a source of hope, and the people trust the Church because they walk together.

What do you consider to be very good about the people of Guinea-Bissau?

They are a people of solidarity, sharing even with strangers. For example, regarding food, we say "Bianda Ka tene dunu" (food has no owner). Therefore, everyone has food. They are a welcoming people who seek to do good regardless of the situation, striving to leave a legacy for future generations.

What is it like to serve as a CPPS priest in Guinea-Bissau?

We serve the Church in three areas:

Pastoral work: catechesis, vocations, diocese, education—the parish is involved in many areas.;

Health: We offer health services at the Irmã Romana Sacchetti outpatient center (UCAIRS), with consultations for adults, children, and pregnant women. We have recently started offering ultrasound scans.

Education: We own and manage the Professor Adriano António Vasconcelos High School in Safim. We have 638 students, from 7th to 12th grade. The school has to operate in two shifts, morning and afternoon, because there is not enough space for so many students.

How important is investment in schools?

Don Settimio (the first Bishop of Bissau, now deceased) said that the Church should attend to three areas: health, education, and evangelization. Access to school is fundamental in impoverished environments because knowing how to read opens horizons, awakens ideals, and also allows us to know Jesus Christ so that we can then bear witness to the values of the Gospel. But most people still don't understand this and don't value school. They live according to Traditional African Religion. It is especially the mothers who insist most on investing in their children's schooling and spend a large part of their meager income on it.

How can we help the people of Guinea-Bissau?

We, the CPPS Missionaries, are in the peripheries and with the peripheries. Our house is always open to welcome people.

At the health center, for example, we offer monthly fee waivers for people who cannot afford to pay: we never refuse service. Sometimes it is difficult to find "authentic" medications and quality equipment. We need help to acquire medications, to pay doctors, nurses and health technicians, and to purchase modern equipment.

In the field of education, we support 86 children/adolescents/young people, aged between 3 and 25, with scholarships. We have been receiving support from Portugal and Spain.

A fundamental aspect is vocations and the house of formation. At the moment we have 3 seminarians in formation. But we also have many young men with vocations, whom we accompany in vocational discernment. It is important that they help us in the formation of our seminarians.

And of course, fundamentally, we need your support through your prayers.