Interview with Cardinal Francis Arinze
Faith Drives His Zeal for Liturgy
by Sabrina Arena Ferrisi
(Page: 3 of 4)
But before baptism, the person in our parish had to go through
a catechumenate, which might have lasted about two years. You would come to Mass and to
prayer with the Christian community. You would come to
catechism classes.
Finally, toward the end of one or two years, the station
catechist examined the person. Such stations had no priest in residence. Then, later on,
there was the overall parish catechist who gave another examination. If you passed that,
then you qualified for examination by the parish priest. When you passed that, then you
were approved for baptism.
Most of the missionaries, at that time, were Spiritans of the
Holy Ghost Congregation. In our area, they were mostly Irish. They had a very good approach.
They were near the people. They approached the older people especially. Many old people said
to them, "Father, do you not see we are old? Why don't you begin with the children?" So,
the missionaries got the idea, and they began with the children. Gradually, the children became
Christians, and the parents had no objections.They saw they were even better children. Gradually
it was the children who spoke to their parents and gradually many parents
became Christians.
Did this happen with your parents?
Yes. It was normal in 1940, 1950. The majority of the families were
not Christian. But now they are. Those who follow the traditional African religion are now a
small minority.
How did you discern that God was calling you to the priesthood?
Again, this is God's own mystery. How he calls each one. Each
one will have a separate story. We can only see a part of it. We must not pretend that we
understand the whole working out of God's call, whether to priesthood or religious life,
or even to marriage.
In my case, I must say in a human way, this Father Tansi was a
person you could not be indifferent to. It was like sitting near fire. You were going to
get warm, even if you didn't realize it. He was an extraordinary priest, and in the areas
where he worked, he gave life to Christian families. There were many young people who went
to the seminary and girls who went into sisterhood because of this spiritual person. After
being a diocesan priest, he went to a Trappist monastery in England. And he died there as
a Trappist Cistercian in 1964.
Of course there were other influences. We would have seen
seminarians who were on holidays. There were very few at that time. And simply God's
grace working. You'd start with a boy serving Mass. Indeed, even now, most of our young
boys who go to the seminary are those who have been altar servers. If the priest is
doing his job well, and prays well, it is likely God will call some of the boys who are
around him at the altar - if he is a good role model.
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