This time my visit coincided with the feast of Don Bosco and we had two very memorable celebrations, the first being a very colourful and joyful celebration of the Eucharist at Matadi. The second being a evening of song, laughter, food and celebration which gathered together so many of the Don Bosco family and friends at the Salesian community residence at 8th Street which we were privileged to share with Archbishop Michael Francis and Fr. Antonio Tallon, the new Salesian regional superior for Africa, who was making his first visit to Liberia. These events touched all kinds of emotions in me because both our flourishing youth centre at Matadi and our community residence at 8th Street had been invaded and very badly looted by fighters during the crisis of last April. It was a great tribute to the Salesians who remained that we have been able to rebuild and start again.

During the dark and dangerous days in April we received wonderful hospitality from the Brothers and Sisters of St. John of God at the Catholic hospital, which remained open throughout the worst of the fighting. It was good to be able to thank them personally for their great kindness, their courage and true missionary solidarity. It was also important for me to be able to thank the U.S. Ambassador for-once again- evacuating some of our Salesians.

There was plenty of physical evidence of the recent fighting, but for me the most telling evidence is in the lives of the damaged young people. The Salesians are once again fully involved in trying to help so many young street children. Orphans and ex-fighters through the various programmes run by Don Bosco Homes and the Don Bosco Rehabilitation and Skills Training Programme. I hope you got a chance to read Fr. Joe Glackin’s very interesting account of his Salesian way of trying to respond to the many needs of these poor children in the last edition of the Salesian Bulletin. In previous visits to Liberia I have been privileged to see this work in action but it was still a shock to my system this time to go into a room of teenagers. Familiar territory for a Salesian you might think- only to find I was among former army majors, colonels and brigadiers. The tragedy of boy soldiers exploited by the greed of others unfolds in all its shocking reality.

 One of the most consoling and encouraging aspects of our work in Liberia is to see the very significant numbers of god lay helpers who work alongside our Salesians. The two gatherings to celebrate the feast of Don Bosco included so many who are sharing in our spirit and mission. They bring their own distinct gifts and energy to the work of Don Bosco for the young and poor. They also bring a much-needed African dimension to the programmes. Another sign of hope will be the forthcoming ordination of our first Liberian Salesian priest, Blamoh Harris, which will take place on 18th May, a few days before the feast of Mary, Help of Christians.

 My visit coincided with the final days of the disarmament process organised by the West African peacekeeping force, known as ‘Ecomog’. It is fervently hoped that this process, if successful, will lead to democratic elections in May. Understandably, there is a lot of mistrust and fear around but I also found plenty of evidence of real hope from the people who have suffered so many setbacks and heartaches in recent years.

Can Liberia achieve real and lasting peace? I do not know the answer to that question, but I do know this. Experts on the Christian life tell us that all Christian spirituality can be summed up in the paschal mystery of Jesus, in other words the story of his life and death. That is what we asked to reflect on by the Church every year in the season of Lent. In Liberia it is easy to see so much evidence of violence, death and destruction. But that is not the true story of Liberia. The true story, indeed the true character of Liberia, is revealed in the faces of the many courageous and good people who despite all the setbacks have remained faithful to their beliefs. In the gospel of Jesus: of a man who was sent to bring good news to the poor, liberty to captives, and sight to the blind