The “Amanuel” Parish in Robe was founded about 20 years ago when it was still under the Vicariate of Meki. Since 2012, the year of the establishment of the Prefecture of Robe, the parish church has become a cathedral.
The Catholic community in Robe consists of approximately 150 faithful, with the majority coming from the Orthodox Church. A liturgical function is celebrated every Sunday, attended by about eighty people, and two other religious functions are held during the week. A small group of families gather in the church every morning at 7:00 am for organized prayer led by themselves.
The Sunday celebration is animated by a good group of youth who regularly meet three times a week to prepare the liturgy and engage in spiritual formation.
“The greatest challenge,” according to Father Angelo, the Apostolic Prefect, “is to nurture and cultivate in our faithful a love for the Word of God and love for the poorest, embodying the Gospel in daily life.”
Indeed, in a Christian context heavily influenced by the Orthodox Church, it is not easy to embrace Jesus by emphasizing His love incarnate over the solemnity of religious worship.
As missionaries, we understand that the great challenge is to awaken in the hearts of the faithful the desire for mission, the desire to proclaim God’s love to all and to live it concretely in service to the poorest and in relationships with people, beyond religious affiliation.
In addition to the Parish of Robe, we have been entrusted with the one in Goba, a city located approximately 10 km away.
Here, the Catholic community consists of around a hundred people and is pastorally accompanied by the joyful presence of the Missionaries of Charity, the Sisters of Mother Teresa.
Two schools are associated with the two parishes. In Goba, there is a kindergarten with about ninety children, and in Robe, there is a kindergarten and an elementary school with a total of approximately 600 students.
Even the activities in the schools are for us an opportunity and a real possibility to extend our missionary work beyond the parish community, proclaiming the values of the Kingdom of God and also providing opportunities to meet the many needs of poor families living around us.
