Once a year, the vibrant African community at St. Joseph’s Church comes alive and fully embodies the spirit of their continent’s vibrant Catholic traditions.

During the Jamaica church’s annual African Heritage Mass, pews were filled with local and visiting parishioners, as well as guests from around the U.S. dressed in traditional clothing that proudly celebrated their heritage.

“Faith is a part of the component of their heritage and we don’t want to forget about it, but we want to celebrate it,” said Father Chris J. Piasta, pastor.

He celebrated the Mass and spoke about unity and ancestry in his homily. He also said that his parish community is rich in diversity and consists of people from more than 50 countries.

“One of the major groups is the Africans here,” Father Piasta said. “As we are doing with the Caribbean and the Latinos in our community, we also celebrate the African heritage once a year in a special way.”

What that meant for the congregation was that the Mass would visually offer a sense of their home expressed through the African print textiles placed on the altar and through the bold garment cloths worn by the children.

During the opening procession, the young members of the Church walked down the aisle barefoot, rhythmically stepping to the thumps of the drum. Sprinkled throughout Mass were special dance performances, including when two young girls slowly offered flowers to the Blessed Mother.

The celebration would also incorporate more than 12 African dialects including Wolof from Senegal; Swahili from Congo; Igbo and Yoruba from Nigeria; Fon from Benin; and Gen, Gbe and Ewe from Togo.

Africa is home to more than 1 billion people who speak more than 1,500 different languages. With such a robust amount of cultural identities existing within its own continent, one particular component that the annual event offers the community is to acknowledge and remind them of the importance of their faith.

“It makes me proud of being a Catholic,” said Peter Okonma, a visitor from Nigeria. He frequents the Jamaica parish when he is in town.

 

 

 

‘We Celebrate Jesus Everyday’

“I was born a Catholic and I remain a Catholic. I encourage people, especially most of our people who have gone out of the Catholic faith to come back to Catholic faith because it’s the same Jesus everywhere. We celebrate Jesus everyday as Christians.”

After Mass, the crowds gathered under the tents in the parish yard for fellowship and for the rows of African food.

For seminarian Jeremie Tsonya, the day reminded him of how he experienced Mass back home in Togo, where he converted to Catholicism.

Tsonya will be entering his sophomore year at the House of Formation in Douglaston and joyfully expressed his appreciation for his native food – a delicacy he doesn’t get too often while studying for the priesthood.

A deejay provided the sounds that also kept the spirit of Africa alive throughout the afternoon. Parishioners from the neighboring parish of Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary also helped with crowd and food control.

Pride in Church, Culture

One of the many reasons for the day’s success was the parishioner who curated most of the event details. Sophie Zekpa led the church choir, made the closing announcements and also handed out food. Her zeal for the Church aligned with her love for her culture.

“Everybody is happy, you can tell, right?” said Zekpa.

“I’m proud of myself because I’m from Africa. Some people when they come here, they’re ashamed to say [they’re] from Africa. No, it’s my pride. It’s the motherland … I will never forget my faith.”