Question 1.10
1.10 From that moment on, was your seminary formation affected by the troubles in Guinean politics?
Yes indeed, we are all affected by the sociopolitical and historical context in which we live. God shapes us in a given environment, through happy or unhappy events and through his chosen intermediaries. He knows how to lead us through the trials and tribulations of history.
Given the political troubles, Archbishop GĂ©rard de Milleville of Conakry decided to repatriate us from the seminary in Bingerville to the Saint Mary of Dixinn seminary and middle school. The latter is located in a district in Conakry by the same name. In order to facilitate our life as future priests and the discernment of our vocation, he housed us in the novitiate of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Cluny, near the middle school in Dixinn, so that we might receive our intellectual, emotional, and spiritual formation in a setting of partial solitude. The Sisters of Cluny no longer had any novices; the building was therefore vacant, ready to welcome a little group of seminarians. Since they were attending a school where young Christians, Muslims, and Africans who practiced traditional religions were present, it was important to teach the young seminarians the habit of frequent âencountersâ with Jesus. Thus, the Sistersâ novitiate was transformed into a seminary, and Father Louis Barry was placed in charge as the rector.
As the one primarily responsible for the seminary, he was concerned about setting an example, so that our discipline, piety, and desire to become better acquainted with God would grow a little more each day. He wanted to instill in us a love of righteousness and humility. Like Saint Paul, he tacitly exhorted us through his example to devote ourselves to âwhatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praiseâ, as it says in the Letter to the Philippians; for the Apostle of the Gentiles also said, âWhat you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, doâ (Phil 4:8-9).
As I would later discover in my own experience as a priest, he wanted to make each of us, even at our young age, despite our frailties, not only an alter Christus, but, much more, ipse Christus, Christ himself.
We took courses with the other students, as the Guinean government required. Unfortunately, after a year, the middle school was confiscated and nationalized by the State, as were all Church-owned schools, charitable works, and property. This measure by the revolutionary Guinean government immediately provoked energetic protests from Archbishop GĂ©rard de Milleville. He was therefore promptly expelled from the country for having defended the rights of the Church. Subsequently, for several months, the seminarians were compelled to stay in their respective parishes, where the Fathers tried to give them a few courses. Under pressure from the regime and given all sorts of difficulties connected with the persecutions, many seminarians abandoned their vocation in order to attend State schools.
Along with several other fellow students who wanted to consecrate their lives to the Lord, I persevered, for I really believed that my path was the priesthood. After repeated negotiations, our new bishop, Archbishop Tchidimbo, managed to enroll us in the State school in Kindia so that we might return to a regular academic life.
The year was already well under way, and we had to pass our brevet (middle school examination). How could we pass the exam after missing more than six months of classes? For it was only in March 1962 that a dozen seminarians, the meager remnant of the group from Dixinn, were able to reach Kindia, ninety miles from Conakry. We went to work converting the premises of a dilapidated former youth center into a livable home with study rooms, a game room, and refectory. The Fathersâ dedication allowed us rapidly to convert the two largest rooms into dormitories. The seminary came back to life under the patronage of Saint Joseph and the leadership of Father Alphonse Gilbert.
His heart overflowing with affection for each of us, he succeeded in restoring guidance to our life as future priests. His gentleness and his homilies drew us to Jesus and urged us to have a real, increasingly intimate relationship with God. I was personally struck by the example, human qualities, and intense interior life of this missionary. Whenever one of us had a fit of anger or bitterness or behaved in a manner unbefitting a Christian, Father Gilbert asked him to go pray before the Blessed Sacrament, so that he could examine his conscience face to face with Jesus and allow himself to be calmed by the Lordâs gentle presence.
After waiting patiently for many months, Archbishop Tchidimbo also succeeded in obtaining authorization to reopen the seminary and to provide courses for seminarians in grades ten and eleven, that is, the year leading up to the baccalaureate. Also, Father GĂ©rard Vieira, who was firmly committed to the training of the future African clergy, came from Conakry every week to teach mathematics, as did Father Maurice de Chalendar to give courses in Latin and Greek. Both of them stayed with us a full day. They were also great models of priestly life and intellectual integrity. At the archbishopâs request, Father Lein, the pastor in Mamou, made himself available to teach philosophy to the oldest students and Latin to the youngest. In 1963, reinforcements came from the Diocese of Luçon in France, in the form of Fathers Joseph Bregeon and Emmanuel Rabaud. Thus we benefited from a great team of qualified and devoted priests, who assisted us not only in our academic work but especially in the task of discerning Godâs will.