Kalemie, Democratic Republic of the Congo

AFRICA

Fr. Anselme Ludiga
Author: Meghan Allen,  4 July 2022

Fr. Anselme Ludiga, a priest of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, knew at just seven years old that he wanted to serve others as a priest one day. “I remember, before we had a television in our home, my father telling us stories and asking each of us what we wanted to do with our lives. I answered, ‘I am going to be a priest’ at just seven years old! That calling has never left me, all these years later.” What Fr. Anselme didn’t know at the time is where this path of priesthood would take him and whose lives he would have the possibility to save both on earth and in the afterlife. The eldest of five children, he grew up in a tight-knit Catholic home that knew hard work and communal support was the only way to having a peaceful, thriving household and community. This foundation would come to serve him well as he pursued his dream of becoming a priest.

In 2013 he was appointed as a territorial supervisor for the Diocesan Justice and Peace Commission just as he began his deaconate. For two years, he worked with a program called “Tusikilizane”--meaning “Let’s Listen to Each Other”--which aimed to resolve a violent inter-ethnic conflict between the Batwa and Bantu communities. Social tensions between the villager Bantu people and the Batwa (also known as Twa), a hunting and gathering nomadic Pygmy people, erupted in 2015. The Twa were further and further marginalized, excluded from local decision-making, and had limited access to resources and land. This resulted in violent attacks between the two communities, a massive displacement of local people, with schools closed, villages burned, and women left jobless or sexually abused. Men were killed while fighting for the rights of their community.

Fr. Anselme took on the role of mediator between the communities for two years as tensions continued to escalate. Mediators such as the NGO Search for Common Ground, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s Social Fund (with funds from the World Bank), and the Catholic and Anglican churches have proved critical in bringing about peace in the Congolese Great Lakes region and beyond. From facilitating peaceful discussions to teaching the two peoples how to farm together, to hosting communal social gatherings, these organizations are teaching the Twa and Bantu peoples how they can communicate and cohabitate peacefully. While in some areas attacks have been ongoing, in other areas, children are going back to school, women are returning to the fields, and husbands and fathers are laying down their weapons in exchange for building material for new homes and community buildings.

Fr. Anselme, after his priestly ordination and work as a parish pastor, is now working to complete an Institutional Communications licentiate degree (equivalent to a master’s degree) at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, where future leaders of the Catholic faith are sent to receive advanced formation to prepare them for leadership roles at the diocesan level. The Formation Foundation has had the honor of providing him with a sponsorship to complete this degree which will allow him to better serve his future apostolates and the local community. As we have already seen great talents in Fr. Anselme as a communicator and intermediary, we are sure that his voice and his heart will bring Christ’s peace, joy, and love to all he will serve throughout his life.

Fr. Anselme looks to Our Lady to guide him on his pastoral path. Please join us in praying for Mary’s intercession in all Fr. Anselme’s future missions.