Easter Celebration in Leer Parrish

We experienced a great joy in St. Joseph the Worker parish, in Leer, Unity State. After more than 5 years the missionaries had the possibility to visit Mayandit and Koch counties, which had been unreachable for long time because of the situation of war and violence in the territory of the parish. For more than 4 years the missionaries were living in Painjiar county and were prevented to reach the other parts of the parish because of the continue fighting and insecurity in the area. After the peace agreement signed last September, there is new hope in the heart of the people. They were really happy to welcome their priest in Mayandit and Koch and to celebrate Easter and the feast of the parish together (1^st of May). More the 1100 people received the sacrament of baptism and around 400 of them were confirmed. After a long journey in canoe and on foot, Fr. Mario reached also the community of Pading, in Rukuai centre, where the last missionary who managed to enter in this area was Fr. Antonio La Braca, in 1996! Also the people of Leer county celebrated Easter with joy together with Fr. Jacob, while Fr. Fernando celebrated the resurrection of Jesus with the people of Painjiar. It has been a really sign of hope for this people who have suffered a lot during these years of crisis, but that have not lost their faith in the God of Life and their hope in a definitive peace. People pray daily for peace, knowing and believing that the love of God is stronger than any form of hatred, revenge and violence.