The history of its vocation as a priest was born in the simplicity of his childhood and grew, step by step, through formation, service and direct contact with the suffering of his people. This same vocation became, now that he is a priest, not only to continue to feel the call to serve God, but also the responsibility to respond to the clamor of a Church and a nation that need prepared guides, capable of transforming hope into a concrete commitment to the service of the common good of the whole of society.
Lomboto is in his first year of training for a degree in Canon Law at the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (PUSC) in Rome, thanks to the support of benefactors and friends of the CARF Foundation.
This is his testimony: «My name is Patrick Lokilo Lomboto. I come from a family of six brothers and I grew up in a humble environment where my faith deeply marked my life from a very early age. From my childhood I already showed signs of my vocation: I used to improvise myself as a “little priest”, using my mother's clothes as a chasuble and, with local products, I celebrated my “mass” imitating the priest».
Patrick tells of his formation and the path to the priesthood: the concrete decision that marked his adolescence and guided every step of his human, intellectual and spiritual formation towards the priesthood.
This deep aspiration led him, at the age of 13, in 2006, to leave his parents to enter the minor seminary. After obtaining his state diploma, he continued his journey with determination, studying philosophy and then theology, followed by two years of pastoral practice.
He was ordained a priest on July 18, 2021 for the Diocese of Basankusu. Since his ordination, he has served for one year in the minor seminary and subsequently for three years as secretary-chancellor.
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a land marked by deep contradictions, whose suffering directly challenges his vocation and gives meaning to his mission as a priest.
«Today I carry within me the cry of my country,» he declares. The Democratic Republic of Congo is a land of contrasts: despite its immense natural wealth, its people live in indescribable poverty. While a political minority enjoys outrageous luxury, the population suffers the consequences of persistent wars.
This economic fragility also affects the local Church. «My diocese struggles daily for its material survival and I would not be able to sustain the cost of my studies without outside help.» In the face of the failure of the political class, the Church remains the last bulwark capable of leading the faithful from suffering to the dignity of work.
Patrick Lokilo Lomboto is clear that formation in the Church is a requirement and a concrete need to form people capable of responding with competence and responsibility to the concrete challenges of society.
Today there is a vital urgency for the Church in the Democratic Republic of Congo: the formation of competent leaders and guides in all areas to meet the enormous challenges of our society. However, the Church, although aware of this need, finds itself in a total financial incapacity to pay for these specializations on its own.
The specialization in Canon Law, a project that should be a concrete response to a real need of the diocese and the whole Church. In this context of precariousness, your bishop, Bishop Libère Pwongo, wanted to add to his priestly service a specific competence in Canon Law.
«This project constitutes a fundamental pillar for the future of our diocese, which severely lacks priests trained in juridical and institutional matters.» The realization of this academic path in the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, The CARF Foundation, in Rome, is possible thanks to the members, benefactors and friends of the CARF Foundation, which represents a providential help in the midst of the economic difficulties of my diocese.
This priest from DR Congo has a clear pastoral purpose and personal commitment: to put every acquired knowledge at the service of a people waiting to be accompanied, guided and rebuilt from within.
The objective of this specialization goes beyond his person. It is about forming guides capable of being true servants of the common good, prepared to lead the suffering people to work. «By acquiring this training, I wish to become an effective collaborator of my bishop, at the service of a suffering people. We can no longer expect solutions from a disconnected political class; it is the Church that must assume the responsibility of forming leaders capable of lifting up the nation.».
As a magnanimous soul, all is gratitude and hope. Patrick's journey and his formation project in Rome are marked by a deep sense of gratitude and by a concrete hope that engages him every day in study, prayer and service.
«I am deeply grateful to the CARF Foundation and all its benefactors for this investment on behalf of my diocese. I pledge to do my best to honor this trust through my academic dedication. In my prayers and in my daily work, I will always carry with me the concern for the universal Church and the hope of my Congolese people.».
Gerardo Ferrara, BA in History and Political Science, specializing in the Middle East.
Responsible for students at the University of the Holy Cross in Rome.
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