When Sister Elizabeth Ogbu visits her hometown in Nigeria, she especially enjoys going at Christmas. “That’s when I catch all the fun,” she said. “It’s a happy time, I tell you.”
My Parish Back Home 2023
Baby Jesus and Three Kings Revered More in Dominican Republic, a Native Priest Says
Santa Claus does have a fanbase in the Dominican Republic, but not as strong as the Baby Jesus, the Three Kings, and La Vieja Belén.
Churches Were Far, But Christmas Joy Always Close, in Rural Kenya
Father Samuel Mwiwawi and his six siblings didn’t experience Christmas Day Mass in Kenya until his parents settled in his father’s ancestral homeland of Taita, about 75 miles northwest of Mombasa.
Christmas in Poland: One Priest’s Memories Growing Up
Father Chris Piasta lived under communism growing up in Katowice, Poland, but unlike other Soviet-bloc countries, Christmas was allowed to flourish at his hometown parish.
Bishop Cisneros Recalls Epiphany Joy in His Native Homeland Cuba
As a little boy, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Octavio Cisneros loved going to his grandmother’s house for Christmas, just like the popular holiday song “Over the River and Through the Woods.” But there was no “drifted snow,” because his grandmother lived on the outskirts of Havana, Cuba.
Pining for The Old White Christmases of Europe
One Christmas, while in Ecuador, Father Alexandre Morard was depressed. There was no snow, which made him homesick for the Swiss Alps where he grew up skiing world-class slopes and hiking through vast forests.