19 May - Raphaël-Louis Rafiringa was born on 1 May 1856 in the Mahamasina district of Antananarivo. His father having lost his first child, wanted to baptize his second son Rakotonirina, meaning the one who is desired. Nevertheless, the local witchdoctor forbade him to do so under penalty of misfortune and so he called his son Firinga, meaning dustbin in order to preserve him from misfortune.

À l'âge de dix ans, Firinga rencontre trois missionnaires catholiques, venus christianiser l'île, appartenant à la congrégation des Frères des Écoles Chrétiennes qui fondent une école à Madagascar. Firinga la rejoint. Le 24 octobre 1869, jour de fête de l'archange Raphaël, il reçoit le baptême et prend le nom de Raphaël. Il ajoute aussi le préfixe Ra à son nom de famille signifiant monsieur et devient alors Raphaël Rafiringa.

En 1876, il demande à rejoindre la communauté des lasalliens. Il y est reçu, et trois ans plus tard, en 1879, il prononce ses premiers vœux religieux et devient Raphaël-Louis Rafiringa. Il est alors le premier malgache à rejoindre cet ordre religieux.

En 1883, les religieux étrangers sont expulsés de Madagascar, et il devient alors le chef des catholiques de tout Madagascar. Six ans plus tard, en 1889, il prononce ses vœux perpétuels. En 1902, il est nommé membre de l'académie de Madagascar et l'année d'après, le 2 mai 1903, il reçoit la médaille du Mérite Civil pour son œuvre de pacification entre la France et Madagascar.

Il meurt le 19 mai 1919 à Fianarantsoa et ses restes sont déplacés dans sa ville natale en 1933. Le 7 juin 2009, le pape Benoît XVI le place au rang des bienheureux, ce qui en fait le deuxième malagasy après Victoire Rasoamanarivo.

 

Message from the Bishops at the end of the Pilgrimage

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, You who have come in such large numbers to take part in this national pilgrimage, as well as all of you who are following it from home through the media. We, the bishops of Madagascar, would like to express our deep gratitude to you for having responded to our invitation and for having brought this jubilee initiated by Pope Francis to life spiritually. With you, we take up Mary's song: ‘My soul exalts the Lord’ and we repeat with her: ‘What shall I repay the Lord for all the good he has done me?’....

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Love and Salvation

Christmas is a great joy, because it is the love of God that has come to us, proclaims Fr. Bizimana Innocent, Provincial Superior of the Salesians Don Bosco of Madagascar and Mauritius, presenting his Christmas greetings. Salvation is accomplished, so life is not in danger of disappearing. It is this love and this salvation that we wish to fill our life so that we have peace.

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Zatti, our brother

The short film "Zatti, our brother" (Argentina, 2020) focuses on one of the most difficult episodes of his life. We are in Viedma, in 1941: at the age of 60, Zatti is forced to leave the hospital he has attended for decades. His faith and strength are tested.

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