Claretian priest reflects on the transformation of the Church in Equatorial Guinea

By Claudia Torres – Malabo, Equatorial Guinea

Fr Inocencio Moisés, a Claretian in Malabo, was just a child when Saint Pope John Paul II visited Equatorial Guinea 44 years ago. Now he is the archdiocesan coordinator of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to his country, a task he has embraced with gratitude.

Speaking to Vatican News on the sidelines of the inauguration of the National University’s ‘Pope Leo XIV Campus’ in Malabo, he reflected on the significance of the Holy Father’s presence in the Catholic-majority country. He also offered an overview of key ways the Church has changed since that last papal visit in 1982, highlighting a rise in vocations to the priesthood and a more local Church.

What is the significance of Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Equatorial Guinea?

Truly, for us this is a special moment. A Pope came to Equatorial Guinea for the first time, but we could say it was like a flash—many of us were just children. It was also a brief moment; Pope John Paul II, of blessed memory, did not even stay overnight. Many years later—about 44 years—we have the opportunity for a Pope to visit us again in a predominantly Catholic country, and we are able to see His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. For us, as the hymn we have composed says, it is a reason for hope and joy.

We live in a context of many family difficulties, in an African context also marked by armed conflicts, much hatred, but also hope. Therefore, we believe this is also a moment of hope, unity, and strengthening of our faith.

We have spent a long time evangelizing. There are already many churches here, other denominations as well. But we need to strengthen the faith of Catholics and Christians so that they truly understand. So this visit of the Holy Father is a great impulse for us—important and special. It is clearly a pastoral visit.

Perhaps some people may see it as just a moment of cultural spectacle, but a great majority have been waiting for it for a long time as another source of renewal—not only for the laity, but also for us religious and priests. He is our shepherd.

How has the Church in Equatorial Guinea changed since the last papal visit in 1982?

The Church has changed a great deal. Not because I am a Claretian, but as the Pope said at the time, evangelization here was largely carried out by the Claretians—though it could have been Jesuits or Dominicans. By circumstance, it was mostly the Claretians who evangelized this Church.

Thanks be to God, and also to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, there are now many more religious congregations here. The Missionaries of Mary Immaculate are present, as well as the Missionaries of the Immaculate Conception, who arrived two years after the Claretian missionaries at their request.

There are many religious congregations and much diocesan clergy. It is truly a more local Church. Missionaries from other countries are fewer each day, and the fact that our dioceses now have Equatoguinean bishops is also a sign of the maturity of the Catholic Church in Equatorial Guinea.

Its face has changed for the better. There are many young people ready to give their best, reaching even the most remote areas that missionaries previously could not reach. We are all there. Today, even in religious congregations, we are largely local.

In my own congregation, for example, we are about 50 Claretians here, and only two are foreigners—one American and one Spanish. The rest are Guinean. This is also thanks to those who, through their missionary spirit, inspired us to embrace this way of life in Christ—both religious and diocesan clergy.

So there are many young people with vocations to religious life?

There are many young people. The interdiocesan seminary in Bata is full and has had to be expanded due to lack of space. There is a strengthening of faith.

However, this is not happening in female congregations. We do not know why—it requires serious analysis. In male congregations, both diocesan and religious, there are vocations. There is difficulty with female vocations, and we need to study the reasons. We are in the same country, so it is not easy to understand why it is now more difficult for young women to embrace religious life.

Why do you think that is?

I have a personal opinion: perhaps female congregations should also reconsider their approach to academic formation. I said it at a conference, that for various reasons, education used to be more limited. But today, if a 17- or 18-year-old girl who has completed secondary school does not aspire to higher education, that becomes a difficulty.

It seems necessary to encourage better academic formation for young women. Many have ambitions to study, but in some congregations, they settle: they enter the novitiate, become religious, and that is the end of their studies. I believe this is a difficulty. This does not happen with male congregations or priests, because they eventually pursue university studies. If a young woman cannot do that, that becomes a barrier.

Additionally, we must strengthen vocational ministry. Perhaps we have become somewhat relaxed. We need to communicate the same message in new ways—adapting language, understanding the present moment, and not remaining stuck in the past. We cannot water down the Gospel or its demands, but we must adapt it to the context. That is why we speak of inculturation in Africa—of an inculturated message. That is my opinion.