Greetings!
There is a saying that has come to my mind frequently that the path to hell is paved with good intentions. I will not expand on that thought but ask your pardon for not posting updates about the projects our office is supporting or on events at the monastery.
Much has happened since the beginning of 2023. However, let me jump forward to April and report on my trip to Tanzania, accompanied by Prior Anastasius. I enjoyed his company and expertise in arranging all travel details. An added benefit is his fluency with the Swahili language.
First on the travel itinerary was one week of vacation with my siblings. I left for Germany on Easter Monday, April 10. It was a happy reunion of all seven siblings. Next stop was our motherhouse, Muensterschwarzach Abbey, for the Conference of Mission Procurators from April 17 to 20. Each time the group meets, project applications sent for consideration of support are discussed. Thanks to the generosity of donors in Europe, Asia, and the United States we can assist most times. Occasionally requests are denied or returned to the applicant with suggestions for alternative options. The Conference of Procurators requires progress reports and independent financial audits. Individual procurators assist in monitoring a project. We aim at full transparency so that we can also report to our benefactors.
Visit to Tanzania – April 21 to May 9. 2023
It has been 35 years since I visited Tanzania. The landscape of this vast and beautiful country presented itself in all shades of green since it was the end of the rainy season. Road conditions are a different story, as is the traffic. Tanzania has a young population; finding employment is a challenge. I observed farmers using primitive methods to work the land. In some regions of Africa, lack of sufficient moisture suggests that another famine could be on the rise.
We started our visit to the four abbeys in Tanzania at Ndanda. During our stay, the emergency ward of the hospital was inaugurated and blessed, in addition to the dining/meeting hall and dormitory wing of the School of Nursing. The community has started a mission in neighboring Mozambique and plans are made for a school in Dodoma, the capital of Tanzania. One evening we spent with the Missionary Benedictine Sisters with whom the monks collaborate in many ministries.
Peramiho Abbey will mark the 125 years of Benedictine presence with the dedication of the Bishop Cassian Spiess Memorial on the site where the first Holy Mass was celebrated in 1886. Meditation stations along the route leading to the memorial use the concept of the “Bible on the Ground.” Stories from Scripture and Benedictine history will be depicted in various art forms inviting pilgrims to deepen their faith and appreciate the sacrifice of those who gave their life for the Gospel during difficult times in the country.
From Peramiho we took a day trip to the African Benedictine Sisters of the Congregation of St. Agnes at Chipole where a new convent addition is waiting for its completion. The Sisters work in many parishes, are involved in healthcare and education, in addition to caring for orphans.
We had planned a relaxing weekend at Litembo, visiting Hildegard Witt, the sister of our deceased confreres Joachim and Manuel. As a lay woman, Hildegard works for many years already at institutions of the Missionary Benedictines or the dioceses where we are represented. Litembo is known for the Diocesan Hospital and our office assisted the Diocese of Mbinga with the expansion of the hospital, addition of a new convent, and with a vocational training center. On our way to Litembo we paid Bishop John Ndimbo a courtesy visit and stopped briefly at the Convent of the Franciscan Sisters who are headquartered in Mbinga. The diocese has its own radio studio as a tool of evangelization. Bishop John was our tour guide of Mbinga and mentioned that he will see us in the evening in Litembo. We had no idea that the next morning the dedication of the parish administration building, and the blessing of the new convent was scheduled. The Mass for the Fourth Sunday of Easter – the Good Shepherd Sunday – started at 9 AM and by the time the blessing of the new facilities was over it was 1 PM. Only 9 choirs from all the outstations of the parish participated. It was a joyous and colorful celebration. I had the privilege of addressing the faithful, bringing greetings of the benefactors in the United States. Fr. Anastasius and I humbly accepted all the praise from the officials, knowing that it was not the two of us who made funds available but the generosity of the many friends here at home.
During our visit to Hanga Abbey we were privileged to participate in the blessing of the new residence for the monks working at Coland Secondary School. Students and teachers joined us for the occasion. At each school, students assist in tending gardens and fields. Preparing for the national examinations is taken seriously. At Hanga Seminary we observed students sitting at their desk outdoors under an awning, studying or writing papers. Each school is ranked by the government, and the results are made public. Hanga Abbey is the first indigenous monastery in our Congregation, founded in 1957. The communities of Holy Spirit Abbey in Mvimwa and St. Theresa Priory in Katibunga, Zambia, call Hanga Abbey their mother, as do several small dependent houses. Hanga Abbey is known for its reforestation efforts. Currently, a proper abbey church is under construction and monks assist with many construction tasks.
The most remote abbey of our Congregation is in Mvimwa in the Diocese of Sumbawanga where monks take care of a large city parish and a Secondary School, while a Primary School is located closer to the abbey. Two monks oversee the health center at Mvimwa, holding degrees as midwife and lab technician. It is the policy that wherever the abbey has a house, brothers assigned to work there lead a life in community. Agriculture is an important task at Mvimwa, especially raising ducks, chicken, pigs, and cattle. Benefactors of the Mission House in Schuyler provided funds for an irrigation system for the banana plantation and garden. We enjoyed a demonstration! The community is blessed with many vocations to the monastic way of life. Unfortunately, the refectory of the community is very small and overcrowded, especially when the confreres on assignment and guests are present. During the rainy season it happens often that the monks must stay in church until they can walk up the hill on slippery and uneven paths to the refectory without being soaked. There is no direct access from the monastery to the dining room! High above the monastery in the mountain cliffs, the community is developing a shrine dedicated to the Blessed Mother that already draws pilgrims from near and far.
Let me summarize: all monasteries that we visited not only have hospitals, schools, and a variety of workshops, but also farmland that produces corn, beans, vegetables, etc. Monastics work together with employees, looking after livestock, pigs, and chicken, and thus following the admonition of St. Benedict who tells us that we should make a living by the work of our hands (and certainly by using the gifts of teaching, etc.) and in serving God’s people.
In discussions with the leadership of the monasteries, convents or dioceses, social and economic issues were addressed. The monks and sisters see the problems of society and are not afraid to act in finding solutions. Foremost, finding ways that assure self-sustainability for monasteries and institutions is noticeable wherever we visited. Our monasteries are vibrant communities, not sheltered from the rest of the world. However, at this point, help from the outside is still needed. This is not taken for granted. Our brothers and sisters in Tanzania, especially at the places we visited, assured us of their prayers for the benefactors and friends of the Missionary Benedictines. Missionaries not only evangelized among the people, but they taught them life skills that better their lives. Together we make a difference!
U.I.O.G.D.
Ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus
That in all things God be glorified!
The spirit of St. Benedict is alive!
June 2023
Br. Tobias Dammert, O.S.B.