Memoirs of
Cardinal Rugambwa: His last Journeys to
Europe and Bukoba
Fr.
Stanislaus Mutajwaha, PhD
Catholic
Diocese of Bukoba, Tanzania
(Writing from
USA
The time between our day of arrival in Rome and the Holy Father’s
Jubilee celebrations was not very long. Still one could pick up one or two
moments worth of special note. The first
is connected to his name as the First African Cardinal. A few years had elapsed
since His Eminence was in Rome the previous time. For that reason the majority
of the priest students at Collegio San Pietro were now seeing him for the first
time even though they had already heard much said about him, especially since
he was the most important alumnus. At
supper time, the first with this group of students, the Rector introduced his
Eminence to the community before the meal could start. In response His Eminence
spoke a few words in Italian in appreciation of the introduction adding a brief
word of encouragement to the students to work as hard as they could. The
applause that followed his few words was almost deafening.
The following day, in the afternoon, as we waited for the arrival
of one official from the Vatican to bring the program of the forthcoming
festivities his Eminence sent me to the Rector who gave me a closed envelope to
bring to His Eminence. Noticing that the
envelope was not addressed, His Eminence immediately saw a possibility that not
everyone could have easily seen, namely that this envelope might still be used
to serve another purpose. I saw him take
an envelope opener from the drawer and carefully open the envelope without
ripping or tearing it. This took him some time and I was wondering why. When I
asked him why he did that, His Eminence answered that it is the times of
scarcity he had gone through not only as a young Bishop of Rutabo Diocese but also
even later as a Cardinal that taught him this. Elaborating the matter his
Eminence cited experiences about his struggles that might sound scarcely
commensurate to the image of the builder of a magnificent Cathedral in Bukoba,
modern complexes of Ntungamo Seminary, the unbeatable Girls’ Secondary School
of Rugambwa and Segerea Senior Seminary in Dar es Salaam.
His Eminence was still narrating his story when the official from
the Vatican arrived bringing with him various documents concerning the Jubilee
celebrations and matters of protocol for updating the Cardinal. When I showed this official the ticket that I
had obtained to allow me into St. Peter’s Basilica to participate at the
Jubilee Mass but wondering which area the ticket was sending me to, the
official noticed that it was good enough. But he also advised that escorting
His Eminence into the Basilica to the place where the Cardinals were going to
vest for Mass would finally bring me to a section that is even closer to the
altar for a better view. And that is what finally happened.
On the day of the great celebration I escorted His Eminence right
into the Basilica. As we walked the distance from where the car left us passing
through entrances manned by the Papal Swiss Guards, you could hear some people
guess correctly, “This will be Rugambwa, the First African Cardinal”. As we arrived the Cardinals were already
beginning to gather. I left him
exchanging greetings with his fellow Cardinals and went to find myself a
place. From my seat, during the
celebration of the Mass I could pretty easily see the majority of the
Cardinals. At one moment, when my eye
fell on His Eminence seated among those Cardinals from all over the world in
their brilliant vestments, my mind recalled a contrasting image: the picture of
Rugambwa the pastor who times of scarcity had taught not to ignore the
possibility of using a used envelope as he struggled to do some greater good
for the brothers and sisters entrusted to his care with the limited resources
available to him.
To be ontinued!
No comments:
Post a Comment