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Spiritan presence: Foundation since 1986. The country, which was called 'Zaire' for 26 years, has now reverted to the name of 'The Democratic Republic of the Congo'. With an area of 2,345,000 km², it has 40 million inhabitants of whom one half are catholic. It has many natural resources, above and below ground (copper, cobalt, diamonds) and a variety of sources of energy (hydraulic, coal, oil, natural gas). The demands that these riches have created have been one of the causes of the trouble that has shaken the country over the last few years. After independence in 1960 and the ensuing troubles, Mobutu took power in 1965 and held on to it until 1997. The democratic movement led to a national conference in 1990, presided over by the Archbishop of Kisangani, but all real power remained in the hands of Mobutu. The country was disintegrating, the civil servants went unpaid. The armed opposition movement to Mobutu in the East of the country brought to the fore L. D. Kabila. The presence of armed ex-soldiers from Rwanda amongst the refugees who had fled from that country led to the destabilisation of the whole Eastern part of Zaire. Soldiers from Rwanda and Uganda, who were trying to eliminate the armed refugees, joined forces with the Zairian opponents of Mobutu. They rallied round Kabila for the conquest of the whole country; a few months later, Kinshasa was captured and Kabila declared himself President. The estimate is that at least 200,000 refugees 'disappeared' during this period; in pursuing the opposing armed Rwandans, the supporters of Kabila did not make much effort to discern who was who amongst the refugees. The reconstruction of the country must now start. The new authorities are showing a dictatorial and doctrinaire character. In the past, the Church made a great contribution to the life of the country in many ways: education in the catholic schools (nationalised at one point and then given back to be managed by the Church under the name of 'écoles conventionnées'); research work on cultural traditions with a view to an inculturation of the faith; development of basic Christian communities and formation of lay leaders; making a public stance, by means of the pastoral letters of the Bishops' conference, against injustice and corruption. In May 1997, the Secretariat of the Bishops' Conference published a document entitled, Get up and walk!. This letter put forward basic proposals for the Church and society (and therefore missionaries) to work for a deepening of the faith through inculturation, and to share in the reconstruction of national unity. The letter was taken up again by a meeting in Rome of Superiors of Missionary Institutes working in Congo Kinshasa, with the theme: "What mission after the recent events?" Amongst other things, it was said that the missionaries who had been "Founding Fathers" (cf. Ecclesia in Africa) are now invited to become collaborators within the local Church. They should change their approach and no longer set up projects without the people, but work with the basic Christian communities and collaborate with the local clergy and other Congregations. The Spiritans first arrived in the country in 1880 and set up at Boma on the coast. They subsequently moved inland to Kindu (1907), Kongolo (1909), Manono (1922), and Lubumbashi (1966). In 1994, the Spiritans of FAC took charge of the parish of Saint-Esprit in Kinshasa and the following year they bought a property on Mount Ngafula for the First Cycle of the Foundation. The Postulancy is at Lubumbashi, but it is going to be transferred to Kongolo. Candidates from the Kinshasa region spend some of their postulancy in the Spiritan parish. A novitiate will begin at Lubumbashi in 1998 and theology will continue to be done at Brazzaville. The Foundation of Zaire was set up in 1986, and it still remains joined to the District.
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