A difficult path to reach the priesthood. Experience in Peru and now in Spain. Father Fugain Dreyfus Yepoussa, a Central African, shares his vocational journey.
My priestly vocation was born very early. When I finished primary school, I asked my parents to allow me to enter the minor seminary of the archdiocese of Bangui, the capital of my country, the Central African Republic (CAR). My parents accepted, but my parish priest did not present the registration form and therefore I could not enter. In my country, to enter the seminary, a young man must bring a letter signed by his parish priest in support of his request.
I tried again when I was a high school student and my parish priest again refused, claiming that my parents were not married in Church. I was very disappointed and, although I still felt the vocational call, my desire to become a priest cooled a little. After finishing secondary school, I started studying telecommunications at the Higher Institute of Technology of the University of Bangui.
Everything changed in my third year when I met a former Comboni seminarian from my parish on the university campus. Talking to him rekindled my desire to become a Comboni missionary. Until then I wanted to become a priest to work in my country, but from that moment I felt a missionary restlessness. He told me about Saint Daniel Comboni and the Comboni Missionaries and offered me the book Saving Africa through Africa.
As I read it, I felt that God was calling me to offer my small contribution to “Save Africa with Africa”. I decided to contact the Comboni Missionaries of the parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Bangui. Thus, I began my journey of discernment and formation in the congregation. In 2006 I entered the Comboni postulancy in Bangui and after finishing philosophy I was sent to the novitiate in Cotonou (Benin).
That was the first time I left my country and started coming into contact with young people from other countries. We were a group of novices from Central Africa, Congo DRC, Benin and Togo. The novitiate period, which we called “desert”, had allowed me to confirm that this was the path that the Lord had traced for me, which gave me a certain inner peace.
Everything in the novitiate had its reason for being, especially prayer, but also the study of the writings of our founder, manual work and sport. I also had a six-month community and pastoral experience in the parish of the Holy Spirit in Tabligbo (Togo) and took my first religious vows in 2011. I was now officially a Comboni Missionary.
For my theology studies, I was assigned to the scholasticate of Kinshasa (DRC). The four years of studies at the Sant’Eugenio de Mazenod Institute were very enriching on an intellectual, community and pastoral level. The Congolese capital is one of the most populated cities in Africa and I immersed myself in the reality of its people to see the relevance of my studies. I wanted to establish the relationship between theory and the realities on the ground. In 2015, after completing my theology studies, I returned to my country for a period of missionary service.
My ordination to the priesthood took place on the feast of St. Joseph, in 2017. Shortly afterwards, I left my continent for the first time when I was sent to Peru. For six years I had a missionary experience in the Buen Pastor parish of Arequipa. Knowing another people, another culture, another language and, above all, another way of living the Christian and Catholic faith has enriched me; it was a grace to have shared my faith with them.
Visiting the families of the parish helped me to better understand the Peruvian pastoral reality. I remember with particular affection the six months spent in the sector called Huarangal. Every afternoon I went from house to house to say hello and spend time with people. These visits allowed me to come into contact with the reality of local poverty. Some families preferred to meet me on the street because they were ashamed that I would see that they had almost nothing at home. However, what struck me most was the joy of the simple people. This helped me understand that happiness does not depend on material possessions.
The years of the pandemic were particularly difficult as it claimed many victims in Peru. The missionaries with whom I lived at the parish were over 70 years old and had to protect themselves more from the virus. I was the youngest priest and so in that period, I had to do almost everything. I often went to anoint people sick with COVID-19. Unfortunately, I also had to refuse to anoint some because the relatives of the deceased did not want to bury them without a prayer. Our archbishop asked us to offer this service and I experienced difficult but also unforgettable moments.
At the same time, I must admit there were moments of loneliness, given the distance from my family. Furthermore, life in a new culture so different from my own is not easy. At times I felt misunderstood and was shocked by certain people’s reactions towards me because I was African, but I understand well that all this is part of the missionary challenge.
After six years in Peru, I can say with certainty that missionary life is the path that the Lord has traced out for me. It is worth being a Comboni missionary because for me there is no greater joy than sharing my Christian faith with the poorest and most abandoned. I have often found that my mere presence with discouraged or disappointed people is a source of hope for them.
Last December another stage of my life began for me. This time in Spain as a formator at the Granada scholasticate. This is a difficult mission and it scares me a little. I am young and inexperienced, but I trust in God, who chose me for this mission. The Church needs above all good priests who show the men and women of our time the way of Christ with their words, their gestures and their testimony of life. I am happy to participate in the training of future Comboni priests.