Bishop Toussaint Iluku Bolumbu MSC Archives - Missionaries of the Sacred Heart

Educating the children of Yetsi: A letter from the Democratic Republic of Congo

Jan 13, 2022

Over the Christmas period, we were delighted to receive blessings of the season along with a news update from Bishop Toussaint Iluku Bolumbu MSC, who was ordained bishop of the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela in the Democratic Republic of Congo in July 2019, and who has been working since to improve desperately needed educational facilities in the diocese.

Previously named superior of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for the French-speaking African region, Bishop Toussaint is the first MSC African bishop. The diocese of Bokungu-Ikela, located in North West of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was founded by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in 1961. Covering an area of 42,000 km, the population of the diocese is estimated at 620,000, and a small clergy of 24 priests, incorporating three MSC communities, have been ministering to the 15 parishes in the diocese for over 60 years.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is ranked as one of the poorest countries in Africa, and the majority of parishes in the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela are located in extremely isolated areas, where transport is difficult as the roads are in a severe state of disrepair. Living conditions are tremendously difficult for local people, who largely depend on agriculture and livestock for their livelihoods, and who struggle terribly with poverty.

Since 2020, Bishop Toussaint has been fundraising and working to build a new school in the Yetsi region, with mission friends and benefactors here in the Irish Province lending their support through our MSC World Projects Appeals in 2020 and 2021.

Thanks to the generosity of our mission friends here in the Irish Province following our 2020 appeal, Bishop Toussaint and his team were able to begin funding the initial stages of the construction of a school building in Yetsi. With the help of our 2021 appeal, Bishop Toussaint and the MSC team were able to buy essential basic equipment such as benches and tables. Prior to this, many children spent classes sitting on the floor. “Some of the pupils bring their own chairs from their homes,” Bishop Toussaint wrote at the time. “However, many of these children are from homes that have so little, they don’t even have a chair to bring to school. Those children who don’t have them, they have the floor, where they sit down and follow the teacher.”

This Christmas, Bishop Toussaint writes with news of further developments in the ongoing construction of the Yetsi school, as the MSC community there continue to work towards giving local children the education they need.

“Greetings from our deepest forest centre, Bokungu,” writes Bishop Toussaint. “I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, full of the blessings of the Lord.”

“We have been collecting local material for the Yetsi school construction, and the boat we have been waiting for, for so long, finally is close to arriving in Bokungu. Cement, sheet metals (plates), and iron bars will finally reach us here. It is my duty to build a good school for our pupils there. Thank you so much for your support and please keep in your prayers an intention for Bokungu-Ikela, a rural diocese full of challenges.”

In a Christmas letter, Bishop Toussaint writes, “While all humanity is facing multiple challenges and fears, the Lord opens before us, through the birth of his beloved Son, Emmanuel, a path of light and life, of hope and love. It is with the Prince of Peace that we can say to all of you: ‘Trust, do not be afraid’. (Mk 6:50).”

“I express my deep gratitude to you and to the Promotion Office for the support to our Diocese. May the Lord bless you.”

With the Catholic Church being one of the main sources of hope for struggling families in the region, Bishop Toussaint and our MSCs continue to do their best to lay the groundwork to give local children, and generations to come, vital resources in education and with it, hope for the future.

MSC World Projects Appeal 2021: Educating disadvantaged youths in the Congo

Jan 25, 2021

Last year, our World Projects Appeal introduced you to the children of the Yetsi region in the Democratic Republic of Congo, where Bishop Toussaint Iluku MSC was raising funds to build a school in an area of extreme poverty and hardship.

The Democratic Republic of Congo is ranked as one of the poorest countries in Africa. The diocese of Bokungu-Ikela, located in the north-west of the Democratic Republic of Congo, was founded by the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in 1961 and is an area of real and pressing need.
The population depends on agriculture and livestock for their livelihoods, and on a day-to-day basis, they live hand-to-mouth in precarious conditions.With the diocese coming up to its 60th anniversary, Bishop Toussaint and MSCs in the region are shining the spotlight on the lack of educational facilities in the region.
The Catholic Church is one of the main sources of hope for struggling families in the area, particularly when it comes to education, and our MSCs are doing their best to lay the groundwork to give local children,and generations to come, hope for the future.

Thanks to the generosity of our mission friends here in the Irish Province following last year’s appeal,Bishop Toussaint and his team were able to fund the construction of a school building in Yetsi.
Work is ongoing on the project; however, the school is sorely lacking in equipment as essential as benches and tables. The children can often be seen studying on the floor due to the lack of the most basic facilities,creating additional challenges for students who already have very little, and who are desperately trying to make the best of what they have in order to build a more hopeful future.

Some of the pupils bring their own chairs from their homes. However, many of these children are from homes that have so little, they don’t even have a chair to bring to school.Those children who don’t have them, they have the
floor, where they sit down and follow the teacher.”
– Bishop Toussaint MSC

Even the smallest contribution will help Bishop Toussaint and MSCs in the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela to continue to educate needy children in the region, providing something as simple as a bench and chair where pupils can study and gain a fighting chance for a brighter tomorrow.

CAN YOU HELP OUR MISSIONS IN THE CONGO?

Blessings to the first MSC African bishop Toussaint Iluku Bolumbu on his ordination

Jul 25, 2019

Congratulations and very best wishes to Bishop Toussaint Iluku Bolumbu MSC, who was ordained bishop of the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela in the Democratic Republic of Congo on July 21^st.

His ordination took place in Bokungo, celebrated by Bishop Fridolin Ambongo Besungo, Archbishop of Kinshasa and Apostolic Administrator of Mbandaka Bikoro.

We are delighted to share the first official photograph of Bishop Toussaint, whose ministry in his new diocese has now begun.

Previously named superior of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart for the French-speaking African region, Bishop Toussaint is the first MSC African bishop. He was appointed fourth bishop of the diocese of Bokungu-Ikela by Pope Francis in April, following a rich and varied missionary journey since his ordination as a priest in 1995. Some of his previous roles include parish priest, vice rector, bursar, and later superior and director of formation of the MSC School in Yaoundé, teacher of philosophy and theology, vice president of the Association of Major Superiors of the ecclesiastical province of Mbandaka-Bikoro, assistant to the secretariat general of the General Chapter of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Rome, and moderator of the General Conference of Missionaries of the Sacred Heart in Yaoundé.

Please join us in sending well wishes to Bishop Toussaint, and we keep him in our prayers as he embarks on his new ministry.