Martyr in Burundi

Chapter 4. Announcing Christ to far-off countries

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Pray and announce the Word of God

When his second mandate as Regional Superior in Italy ended on April 26, 1990, Father Maule was assigned once again to the mission of Burundi. Before leaving he spent a year studying in Paris. Finally, on September 7, 1991, he arrived in Buyengero. He was 49 years old.

A journalist asked him why he was leaving again for Africa at his age, when there was so much need of priests at home. He replied: “Many people ask me the same question. The reply is simple: there are many vocations in the Church; mine is to announce Christ in far off countries where he is not yet known, where the Church is still in its infancy, or does not even exist yet; my vocation is to go to these people, to bear witness to the love Christ among them, to live with them, share their joys and sufferings. When I left for the first time 21 years ago, I was full of youthful enthusiasm; today, it is my fidelity to my missionary vocation that is behind my desire and decision to return”.

Back in Buyengero he found Father Modesto Todeschi, who later remembered the presence of Father Maule in that mission: “Thinking back to those days, I feel safe in saying that it was a great blessing to live and work alongside him. I miss his serenity in even the most trying moments, I miss his friendship and support. I remember his pastoral zeal and his love for the people entrusted to his care. He was very skilled at managing every kind of practical work, and he surely holds the record for the construction work carried out in Burundi: in a few years, the parish church, nine chapels in the outstations, classrooms, dispensaries and roads were all brought to completion.

I am sometimes tempted to think that he undertook such intensive activity almost as if he sensed that he did not have long to live. I often said to myself that it was not possible for one man to do so much and, in fact, it did take its toll on him. He showed good taste in planning and executing even the smallest projects. These achievements will certainly be among the most enduring memories of his presence here.

Above all, however, he was an intelligent and tenacious organizer of pastoral activity. He followed the formation of the 20 catechists in charge of the alphabetization program, and those who taught catechism to the children (120) on Sundays; he was also in charge of the leaders of the Catholic Action Association. During the course of one year, about 350 young, and not so young, people passed through the center. He also got the basic communities and the outstations organized, just as he had done before in Rumeza. When he arrived in Buyengero there were 9 outstations; when he died, there were 20, each one with its own chapel and school built with bricks and upon solid foundations. Though it cost us much work and effort, we were proud of the achievements, also because the people had given their own enthusiastic collaboration”.

The Training of Leaders

The 50 year old Father Ottorino Maule launched himself without reserve into the new missionary adventure in Burundi, a country torn apart by hatred and poverty to the extent that redemption seemed impossible.

In March 1992, he wrote to the Superior General: “I arrived here almost six months ago and I have settled down in my new surroundings: I say ‘new’ in a manner of speaking, because I was here more than 20 years ago. I was a bit concerned before coming, wondering what it would be like to return after so many years of absence from Africa. Apart from the language, it was easier than I thought; I still do not have a good command of the language, but I manage to make myself understood in running the formation courses.

Together with Father Modesto, we are organizing the new parish of Buyengero; it was founded just one year ago and is growing quickly. In the last few days, part of the parish of Rumonge has been allocated to our parish territory. We have drawn up, together with the bishop, the goals we wish to achieve: we wish to re-vitalize the hillside communities by visiting all of them during the dry season; in the meantime, we have met the leaders.

We will also dedicate special attention to the formation of leaders, and those responsible for the various movements and ministries. We shall attempt to multiply and develop the ministries within the Christian community so that it becomes even more responsible for its own life and activities. We will also take good care of young people, especially the students; years ago, our alphabetization courses were well attended; now that the primary schools have been increased, the majority of children attend them instead.

There are many vocations in the Church; mine is to announce Christ in far off countries where he is not yet known, where the Church is still in its infancy, or does not even exist yet; my vocation is to go to these people, to bear witness to the love Christ among them, to live with them, share their joys and sufferings.
Fr. Ottorino Maule

However, we feel that the half hour religious instruction they receive each week is not enough; therefore, we have proposed catechism lessons given by voluntary catechists after Sunday Mass. The parents and a good group of Christians have accepted the proposal. We have 112 catechists to spread among the outstations and we are now making arrangements for their formation. We are confident it will turn out well. We will devote special attention to the formation of leaders and making our communities more missionary and attentive to the many non-Christians in this region, where the Catholics are only 30% of the entire population and where other churches and sects are flourishing.

The church of Buyengero, now a vibrant Christian community

Efforts to improve Life

There is plenty of work to do and my health is good. The future, especially the political future, is still uncertain, as is the forthcoming referendum on the Constitution, and the political and administrative elections that will follow in the process towards the democratization of the country. I am an optimist, and I believe that everything will turn out well. With regard to development, the people, at least in our region, are making great efforts to improve their circumstances, the agriculture, the drinking water, though poverty is still rife.

The local church of Bururi has totally changed since I was last here: the local clergy is stronger and now runs the organization of the diocese and the majority of the parishes. At first sight, it would appear that what you said in your report after the visit in January 1992 was an accurate prediction: that in a few years our places would be occupied by local clergy; in actual fact, however, this has not yet happened. The number of local clergy is increasing, but it is still not enough and bishop Bududira is looking for other priests (in Zaire, as he told me recently) because there are parishes without any priest and areas that have not yet been evangelized.

Only one third of the population is Catholic and there are Christian communities that need to be built. The damage cause by the Bagaza dictatorship is visible everywhere: lack of formation, defections, religious relativism. We must not forget that the deepest meaning of our missionary presence is to keep alive in this church the urgency of the evangelization of the non-Christians here and elsewhere”.

Seven months later, on October 16, 1992, Father Maule wrote again to the Superior General: “I am beginning to see the blessing of God upon our work just one year after my arrival; we are well on the way to fulfilling the targets we chose with the bishop: next week we shall complete the visits to the small communities. The meetings were an unforgettable experience: we spent 5/6 hours together (prayer, listening to the Word, exchange of reflections, penance, Mass and communal lunch).

These visits allow us to meet the people in their houses, or in the places where they hold their monthly meeting. On quite a few occasions, we celebrate the baptism of people who had abandoned the church or who live on the fringe of the community. We now feel more like true missionaries, and not just pastors, among our people. The people experienced a great joy. When we leave, they ask us to return the following year”.

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