Kinshasa, June 3th, 2021 (CPA).- The President of the Republic, Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, accompanied by his wife, Denise Nyakeru Tshisekedi, participated on Wednesday in the thanksgiving mass organized in the Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Congo in Kinshasa, in memory of Mrs. Perpetue Namukara M’Nyamirali, birth mother of Senate Speaker Modeste Bahati Lukwebo, who died on May 17th, 2021 in Bukavu, in Sud Kivu province.
The officiant of the day, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu, in his homily, hailed the longevity of life of the late Perpetue M’yamirali who died at the age of 111, in a country where life expectancy does not exceed hardly 50 years.
For the Catholic prelate, « to live for a century, a decade and a year in a country where life expectancy is around 50 years is a miracle from God. »
“We have come to celebrate the victory of life over death. With these long years that the Lord granted to his servant, the pain or the natural pain that all death poses is considered null next to divine grace. There are few people who come close to the hundred years, even in the West where the best conditions for human life reign. We live a long time on this earth by the will of God. And also, the life one has, whatever its quality has nothing to do with any merit on the part of any man, « said the Archbishop of Kinshasa.
Speaking of the creation of man and the coming of Christ, Cardinal Fridolin Ambongo Besungu referred to the biblical passages taken from the books of Genesis, in the first chapter from 26th to 27th verse, and from Matthew in chapter 25, from 31st to 46th verse, before demonstrating that all human life comes from God who created man in his image. He also recommended works of charity to the prince of the Church and to the assistance in order to live long.
He also said he was convinced that if Mama Perpetue bowed out full of days, it was because she was devoted to charity.
The two representatives of the family, in this case, Prof. Modeste Bahati and his brother, General-Major Deo Lukwebo Mbogo, for their part thanked God for the longevity granted to their progenitor who dedicated his life to serve God in the Catholic Faith.
They expressed their gratitude to all those who joined them on this occasion and more particularly to the presidential couple.
Several politicians, friends, families and acquaintances took part in this religious service embellished by the choir Christophe Munzihirwa.
Born in 1910, Mrs. Perpetue Namukara M’Nyamirali left several generations.
ACP/Zng / GGK