PHOTOS: African Mass in Columbia

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Members of St. Thomas More Newman Center Parish in Columbia gather the afternoon of Sunday, Feb. 12, for an African Mass embracing the culture of the African students and parishioners and those who are of African heritage. The Mass was part of the parish’s Black History Month observance. Father Paulinus C. Aneke, PhD, a priest of the Diocese of Enugu, Nigeria, who was serving as associate pastor of the parish, presided and preached the homily. Father Simon Jude Kanyke, a priest of the Archdiocese of Kampala, Uganda, who is associate pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Columbia, and Father Ignatius Nimwesiga, a priest of the Diocese of Mbarrara, Uganda, who is a chaplain of Fr. Tolton Regional Catholic High School in Columbia, concelebrated. “Today, we hope to showcase the rich and diverse culture within Africa with our music and our traditional style of worship as Catholics back home,” a parishioner stated before Mass. The choir led the singing of hymns and praise songs from various nations in Africa. Fr. Aneka preached about choosing the road of discipleship and following it. Several parishioners prayed the General Intercessions in languages spoken in various parts of Africa, including the Igala language from north-central Nigeria, the Ibo language from southeast Nigeria, the Libala language from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Swahili language from Kenya, and the Twi language from Ghana. After Mass, congregants gathered for a reception in the Newman Center’s Multipurpose Room. (37 photos)