A look at the small story of my vocation, by Father Bernardin Yoka Mongu CM, is an important testimony of missionary faith!
I didn’t want to resist the request from the CM communication service to elaborate on a little story about my vocation.
I was blessed to be born into a deeply Christian family and grew up in an environment marked by the visible presence of the Vincentians: the Lazarist Fathers and the Daughters of Charity Sisters, who will celebrate next year the centenary of their presence in the DRC. As a child, I played at being a priest at home or elsewhere with friends. Some time later, this childhood game gave way to a closeness with the Lazarist Fathers through Father Vincent Walkiers, who marked our lives with a rich culture that will remain engraved in our memories: the choir “pueri cantores” with Gregorian chants in Latin or translated into Lingala, the local language, cinema, reading (novels and others), picnics, etc. I studied at a prestigious school, Lycée Mwinda (Light) of the Daughters of Charity Sisters, where I obtained my State diploma.
It is worth noting that at the age of 13, I had the opportunity to be invited to the office of the Provincial Treasurer of the Lazarists of Congo. It was a significant moment of contact and collaboration with a major structure of the Lazarist Fathers. Indeed, Father Henri Ghesquière had just been appointed Provincial Treasurer, and he arrived in Bikoro to take up this service. At the beginning of his service, he set his eyes on me and invited me into his office; this was the beginning of an adventure that would mark my entire life. I rendered numerous services to Father Treasurer: selling notebooks, distributing letters and phone messages, photocopying services, replacing workers on leave, traveling with the driver, and cleaning the provincial house whenever the Visitor returned to Bikoro.
It is in this atmosphere of contact with Fathers Vincent Walkiers and Henri Ghesquière that I can situate the beginning of my vocation. After the State exams, a question posed by the Parish Priest, Monsignor Roger Zama, touched and troubled me: “Could you not enter the seminary?” Moreover, Father Henri Ghesquière offered to support my university studies, which was an option contrary to the priestly vocation! I found myself like a child at the crossroads of two paths! I spoke with my mother to see if she could guide me on the path to take, but she passed the ball back to me, saying that it was up to me to decide! Faced with this uncertainty, I decided to pray to make a clear and personal choice before God: I told the Lord I would toss the image of the Virgin Mary (I later learned it was the image of Our Lady of Perpetual Help!); if the image fell on the side of the Virgin Mary’s face, the choice would be the priestly vocation, but if it fell on the other side, the opposite option would be seriously considered! The rest, we know!
At Father Vincent’s request, I met the Visitor, who initially made things difficult for me due to the delay in presenting my application, but after my defense, he eventually accepted it, asking me to henceforth accompany the Daughters of Charity Sisters on visits to the poor! After passing the test, the Visitor accepted me to enter the seminary with the Lazarist Fathers! I then followed the formation path to become a Vincentian priest: Aspirancy, Novitiate, Philosophy with the Jesuits, a year of internship, and four years of theology with the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, and I was ordained first as a Deacon and then as a Priest on 24/08/2003 in Bikoro. After ordination, I would assume the following services: Vicar at Christ the King Parish in Yumbi, Parish Priest in the same Parish, Vice-Treasurer, and Chaplain of St. Joseph Hospital in Limete. I would be confirmed as Provincial Treasurer, Manager, and Administrator of the Sainte Famille School Complex, Parish Priest of St. Emile Parish in Mooto, and Parish Priest of Our Lady of Congo Parish in Air-Congo. In 2015, I would be appointed Visitor of the Congo-Belgium Province. In 2018, I was reappointed as Visitor for a second term, and in 2021, I would leave this service. Sent to study at UCC, I would not complete this mission due to a severe knee injury that caused me significant trouble. In 2023, I received the mission to go to Rome to study Spiritual Theology with a specialization in the formation of formators and vocation animators. I am currently in the second year of my licentiate.
I refrain from telling the full experience of my vocation in this brief article, but I can say that God, in His infinite love, has associated me with the unique priesthood of Christ to be configured to Him (Jesus) and serve Him in the Church in the Congregation of the Mission. I thank Him and ask Him to help me discover with faith what I still need to do in His vineyard for His greater glory and the salvation of His people.
In short, this presentation has allowed us to see that the Lord is good; He calls us, and He renews this call every day. Through encounters, meditations, and events, He guides and accompanies us. Since every vocation is linked to the Paschal experience, I have known moments of consolation and desolation. In faith, we must thank the Lord for His call and always be available and generous in saying, “Here I am, send me” (Is 6:8) to evangelize and serve the poor and accompany my brothers and sisters on the path to the Kingdom through a continually renewed configuration to Christ in conversion by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Father Bernardin Yoka Mongu CM
Student at the Pontifical Salesian University of Rome
