We are eye witnesses of the damage caused by Covid 19 pandemic in the world. We live daily in situations of endless conflicts of wars, terrorism, racial and ethnic segregation, marginalization towards persons with “abnormal” behavior and miserable people, families where children deprived of family and school education live in the streets, and mutilated and/or raped youths.
All these political phenomena jeopardize spiritual and socio-cultural context and leave human person to his most extreme vulnerability, misery, despair, and further more put him in a situation of insecurity, panic and confusion. This does not come to pass without leaving behind negative consequences on physical and spiritual human life and on his dignity. The situations of injustice mentioned earlier leave very serious and unsupportable effects on the social fabric which is torn by all kinds of negativities. Those effects result into psychological trauma and depressions caused by material poverty, unemployment, corruption, banditry, drugs consumption, promiscuity, terrorism, torture, …and so many other mental disorders that tear and break down individuals and families. A world full of problems to the extent that some people, being caught in a situation of confusion are misled by worldly beliefs, and at the end fall in the collapse of values.

Faced with these situations of uncertainty and despair, Almighty and merciful God chooses for Himself messengers who appear in the world as special envoys to contain fires of hatred, division, segregation and other evils harmful to the harmonious life and to the love that God wanted when He incarnated Himself in order to embrace the conditions of human life through His Son Jesus Christ. The example of Mr. Jean Baptiste Sengayire, after 30 years of experience, has just proved that it is possible to build a world of sustainable peace, universal brotherhood and unity without using violence that fools use thinking that they will get better solutions but which at the end lead them to the disaster.

BACKGROUND OF THE BIG CROSS IN TAU

During the jubilee of 25 years of the Mission of the Glorious Cross of St. Francis of Assisi in 2016, His grace Msgr. Thaddée NTIHINYURWA, metropolitan Archbishop of Kigali officially confirmed the authenticity of the message of Jean Baptiste and encouraged him in these words: «… Where God took you through was not to mislead you, rather taking you to Himself. Continue to enlighten our Church». In the same year, the bishop of Würzburg Msgr. Friedhelm along with the friends of Mr. Alfred Schäfer from Bad Brückenau in the region of Bavaria in Germany, offered to His grace Msgr. Thaddée NTIHINYURWA a big cross in Franciscan Tau, a sign of St. Francis of Assisi, dedicated to St. Anthony of Padua as a sign of union of prayer for peace process in Rwanda and in the whole world. It is therefore in 2017 that the Archbishop of Kigali entrusted this cross in Tau to Mr. Jean Baptiste and his Ministries of the Glorious Cross as an urgent mission for the promotion of the devotion to St. Anthony of Padua for peace.

THE RECEPTION OF THE CROSS IN TAU BY THE FRANCISCAN FAMILY

After Jean Baptiste received the cross of peace, along with the Franciscan family, they started its procession in 2017, 2018 and 2019 in Rwanda. In 2020-2021, due to Covid 19 pandemic, all activities stopped everywhere in the world; people were put into lockdown. The pandemic broke when Jean Baptiste was travelling in USA where he was expected to spend 3 weeks; this was in February 2020. As borders were closed and flights suspended, he found himself stranded in USA for 6 months.

THE IDEA OF STARTING THE CRUSADE IN KENYA

The war that started in 1990 in Rwanda and resulted in genocide against the Tutsis in 1994, has caused many challenges to East African region because of people who fled to its country members. East Africa comprises now 7 countries aimed at collaborating and moving forward together, however they are facing political challenges, war and its side effects. It is in this respect that, after consultation, Jean Baptiste chose to come to Kenya where there is a headquarter of the Franciscan Province, to kick off that good work of great value and which is needed by many people in today’s time.

PROCESSION ROUTE OF THE CROSS

The cross in Tau will come from Rwanda, accompanied by the statue of Saint Mary, Virgin of thousand solutions. It will pass through Uganda to Kenya. Rwandan Franciscans will take it to Katuna and Franciscans from Mbarara will receive it and take it to Kampala. From Kampala it will be taken to Busia where it will be received by Franciscans from Nakuru who will take it to Nakuru. Thereafter, the cross will leave Nakuru to Nairobi before the celebration of the exaltation of the cross on 14th September.

SCHEDULE OF THE CRUSADE

13th June 2022-13th June 2023: Kenya
13th June 2023-13th June 2024: Uganda
13th June 2024-13th June 2025: Tanzania
13th June 2025-13th June 2026: Burundi
13th June 2026-13th June 2027: Rwanda

Every country will organize the program of activities of the year until the cross is handed over to another country. This project will be possible thanks to joint collaboration between the Glorious Cross Ministries, Franciscan Family, Laudato Si Movement and CUEA/CSJE. To achieve our goal, there will be organized fundraising, request for support to well-wishers organizations and governments. An organization team will be set. After the Province will have approved the project, we will proceed to requesting authorization from the Archbishop of Nairobi.

WHY THE CRUSADE OF ST. ANTHONY OF PADUA?

The crusade of St. Anthony of Padua comes as an answer to the current concerns of our Mother Church and its pastors in order to contribute to the eradication of visions and philosophies intended to intimidate and humiliate the Church and endanger the unity and brotherhood of people of God. The crusade seeks first to gather together all God’s people from all categories; lay, clerk, men and women religious, around the cross so as to promote peace in the East African region and in the whole world.

AKNOWLEDGEMENT

I have a great recognition to the Catholic Church our mother; she is the unique school in the world that teaches us about the passion, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. My gratitude goes equally to the Order of Friar Minors (Ofm) in particular, present in the Province of St. Francis of Assisi in Africa, Madagascar and Mauritius and to the Franciscan family in general who have always encouraged and supported the Ministries of the Glorious Cross and its activities. If they had not intervened, my task would not have been easy considering the context in which I started this ministry.