Ghinnir – After seven years of presence in Robe, the fraternity of the Villaregia Missionary Community has taken a new step in its missionary journey by moving to Ghinnir, in the heart of East Bale. The decision came after a long period of discernment and through the experience gained over these years in a region where the presence of the Catholic Church remains very limited.
“There are moments when mission asks us to stay, to put down roots and build relationships, and there are others when it asks us to set out again and cross new horizons. The time has come for us to begin again,” says Teresa Zullo, a missionary from the Community of Villaregia who has been in Ethiopia for seven years, following an invitation from Fr. Angelo Antolini, OFM Cap., Prefect of the Apostolic Prefecture of Robe.
“We moved to Ghinnir, in the heart of East Bale. This decision was born from a journey of discernment and from the years of experience we gained in a territory that we have gradually come to know more closely,” the missionary explains.
Since 2023, the community has begun visiting the communities of East Bale more regularly, focusing in particular on raising awareness about female genital mutilation and early marriage .
As we met people and communities, travelled along roads and reached remote villages, a question began to grow within us: perhaps it is not enough simply to continue traveling to these communities.
The move therefore represents a new stage in the missionary journey: “Leaving what is familiar, entering a new reality and learning how to be present where there is not yet a Catholic community.”
In a context with an overwhelming Muslim majority, the missionaries seek above all to offer “a presence of relationship, listening, service and fraternity.”
From Ghinnir, moreover, it will be easier to reach the remote areas of East Bale, including those close to the Somali Region of Ethiopia. “The move is therefore not simply a change of place. It is a new step: a new reality to discover, new people to meet and new roads to travel. A home to inhabit, but a tent in our hearts: ready to stay, to meet others and, when the time comes, to set out again.”
Seven years ago, the Villaregia Missionary Community assumed pastoral responsibility for the small parishes of Robe and Goba. “We began taking our first steps in this challenging context. The slow process of learning the language, our encounters with people and the time spent travelling allowed us, little by little, to begin our pastoral activities and to become part of this new reality.”
A concrete experience also helped prompt the decision to establish a more stable presence in East Bale. “Three years ago, a prolonged period of drought forced many people to leave the East Bale region and head towards Robe in search of opportunities. As we passed near the bus station in Robe, we noticed their presence. We approached them, asked some questions and discovered that they came from East Bale. We thus found ourselves facing a vast territory that was almost completely neglected by the Church’s missionary activity. For us, this became an insistent call to our identity as missionaries ad gentes.”
“Today, in Bale, we are present in the four provinces of Golcia, Sauena, Laga Gaida and Daarar,” adds Fr. Emanuele Ciccia, a missionary from the Villaregia Community. “But over these years, one question continued to challenge us: is this area, where the Gospel has not yet taken root, are we maybe being asked for an exclusive commitment? Could the city of Ghinnir be a place where we should be present precisely because there is not yet a church or a Catholic community?”
Over time, the missionary explains, the answer emerged through relationships. “We realiZed that something was changing. East Bale could not simply be a territory in which to carry out certain missionary activities. The relationships built over these three years of work made us understand that the time had come to take a further step: not only continue to reach these communities, but to draw close to them in a stable way. In other words, no longer a mission towards the frontier, but a mission in the frontier. This is where the decision to move to Ghinnir comes from.”
“It is a step that takes us beyond what is familiar and, after seven years of work in Robe, means beginning again: living in the city, building relationships and constantly discerning the signs of the Spirit,” Fr. Emanuele stresses.
The choice also raises a concrete question: “How can we be Church where there is not yet a Church? How can we be Church in a predominantly Muslim context? The answer will not first and foremost be a structure; it will be a presence.”
“Being numerically insignificant can represent a great opportunity for the Gospel, a precious opportunity to draw close to others, not to frighten them, to recognize the positive forces within the local community and to build networks with them,” Teresa observes.
“In some contexts, it will not be possible to speak directly about the person of Jesus, but there are a thousand ways of proclaiming the Gospel,” Fr. Emanuele adds. “First of all, through sharing the values of the Kingdom of God, through the way we relate to people, our concern for the least among us and our ability to build bridges with others.”
For this reason, the missionary says, the move to Ghinnir represents “a stage of missionary maturity.”
“Growing in mission means learning to leave behind our certainties, not to depend too heavily on structures, and to remain open to what we do not yet know.”
The decision to rent a house also carries a symbolic meaning: “It suggests missionary agility, but it also reminds us that, in a Prefecture such as ours, the most appropriate image is that of a tent rather than a house. A tent offers shelter and allows us to inhabit a place, but it remains light, simple and ready to be dismantled and pitched elsewhere. A Church that knows how to put down roots, but does not allow itself to become weighed down by its structures; a Church that knows how to inhabit a territory, while remaining free to set out again when mission requires it. For this reason, Ghinnir will not simply be a new destination, but a new base from where to set out.”
“Mobility, therefore, is not merely a practical matter; it is part of the way we understand mission,” Teresa continues. “A Church that moves, a Church that goes out, a Church that draws near. This choice concerns not only our fraternity, but is part of the journey of the Apostolic Prefecture of Robe, which is called to grow and continually broaden the scope of its evangelizing mission.”
“We left Robe just a few days ago, and now here we are in Ghinnir, without knowing what awaits us,” Teresa concludes. “We would like to set out again with a home to live in, but with a tent in our hearts, ready to stay, to meet others and, when the time comes, to set out again.”
The Villaregia Missionary Community is a Catholic community made up of consecrated men and women, clergy, married couples and single people of different nationalities, united by the same spirituality and the same mission: to be a community for the ad gentes mission.
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