Interview with Cardinal Souraphiel
Ethiopia
Ethiopia is a Spiritan Group and is part of the Union of Circumscriptions of East Africa (UCEAF).
| CSSp Ethiopia (website) | |
| Wikipedia |
| 6 Spiritan Communities: |
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| 1943 | Prehistory of our presence in Ethiopia, when Fr Devenish (Trinidad), as Pro-Vicar Apostolic, leads a group of Spiritans (Frs. Fitzsimmons, Watkins and Grennan), replacing Italian missionaries expelled from Harar. (Ethiopia 1943-01-31) |
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| 1968 | It is at the Chapter of 1968 that the question of first evangelisation is discussed and put on the agenda as a priority. Fr Eugene Hillman goes to Ethiopia and visits the areas of Gambels and Gamo Gofa. He runs out of time for visiting Borana land, but in his reports he mentions Borana as the third possibility. (Ethiopia 1968-02-18) |
| 1972 | Frs. Kelly, Jackson and Nass travel to Ethiopia and establish themselves in Addis Ababa. (Ethiopia 1972-08-03) |
| 1972 | Frs. Edward Kelly and William Jackson set out to open a mission of first evangelisation at Dadim among the Borana people; it is a joint under-taking with the Dutch Province. (Ethiopia 1972-08-24) |
| 1975 | The team leave Addis Abeba for Dadim and by 11th of March they have everything ready to begin work. (Ethiopia Sidamo 1975-02-01) |
| 1976 | The school is officially opened in the presence of government representatives. (Ethiopia Sidamo 1976-03-01) |
| 1977 | The general meeting of the Apostolic Vicari-ate of Gimma accepts the principle that all the apos-tolate in Gamo-Gofa, while assisting the existing Catholics, will be conducted with and through the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. (Ethiopia 1977-02-26) |
| 1978 | The "Medhanie alem" (the Saviour of the world) Orthodox Clergy Training Centre at Chencha, Ethiopia, is established by Frs Jan Ermers, C.M., and Owen Lambert, C.S.Sp. (Ethiopia Gamu Gofa 1978-02-01) |
| 1979 | The Spiritan team presents itself to the people (elders) to start their work as evangelisers around Dadim. The elders agree that those who want to be baptised in the Catholic Church are free to do so and will not be regarded as belonging less to the Borana people because of it. (Ethiopia 1979-03-12) |
| 1981 | The first twelve Boranas are baptised in Dadim. (Ethiopia 1981-04-02) |
| 1982 | Because of difficulties raised in Rome by the Ethiopian Catholic Bishops concerning inculturation and collaboration with the Orthodox Church, the Superior General, Frans Timmermans, visits the country for the first time and wins the support of Car-dinal Willebrands' (Secretariat for Christian Unity) for the Gamo-Gofa "experiment". (Ethiopia 1982-09-20) |
| 1983 | On the formal invitation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Archbishop, Abuna Zacharias, Fr. Brian O'Toole C.S.Sp. (Catholic) and Marigeta Tewedaj (Orthodox) begin the mission of first evangelisation among the Hamer people at Dimeka. (Gamu-Gofa 1983-12-11) |
| 1989 | The East African Foundation becomes the East African Province with Fr Daniel Macha as its first Provincial. (E.A.F. 1989-02-02) |
| 1989 | At the Enlarged General Council in Arusha, Tanzania, a special appeal is made by the Borana group for personnel. The Nigerian Province agrees to send one of their men, Peter Osuji, to join the group. (Ethiopia 1989-05-06) |
| 1993 | Pope John Paul II, who has already received the patriarch of Ethiopia, Abuna Tekle-Haymanot, (17 October 1981), welcomes in Rome H.H. Abuna Paulos, the present patriarch, and con-firms that their two Churches possess the same ap-ostolic tradition, faith in Christ and ministry, and should collaborate. He praises the values of the Ethiopian tradition, e.g. inculturation, liturgy, monasticism. (Ethiopia 1993-06-11) |
| 1995 | A young man, Diida Wario, expresses the wish to become a Spiritan; he is the first Boran to show this kind of interest. He will start his studies in Njiro, Tanzania, in the Spiritan house of philosophy in August 1997. (Ethiopia 1995-12-13) |
| 1997 | Dida, the first Ethiopian Borana candidate, flies to Arusha to begin his training. (Ethiopia 1997-05-11) |
| 1997 | The two Spiritan groups celebrate their Silver Jubilee together in Addis Ababa. (Ethiopia 1997-08-15) |
Interview with Cardinal Souraphiel
Cardinal Souraphiel, archbishop of Addis Abeba (Ethiopia), visits the General Council of the Spiritans, and is interviewed by Fr. Jean-Yves Urfié, CSSp.