Sioux City Mater Dei hosts monthly French Mass

By RENEE WEBB
Content and Design Coordinator

Several parishes in the Diocese of Sioux City have offered Spanish Mass many years and for Cathedral of the Epiphany, Vietnamese Mass is a regular weekly liturgy.

Recently, a monthly French Mass has been added to the liturgy offerings in Sioux City.
With the blessing of their pastor, Father Brad Pelzel of Mater Dei Parish in Sioux City, a grassroots effort by the Catholic French-speaking community in Sioux City helped to make French Mass a reality.

When Father Pelzel was approached last fall about having a French Mass, he wasn’t very aware of this particular need.

“At our Masses, we have substantial diversity.” He acknowledged, “When you look out, it’s hard to tell who is from Africa, the Caribbean or South America – so part of the expectation is that they probably are Spanish speakers.”  

Learning of the number of French speakers in Sioux City was a bit of “an eye-opener” for Father Pelzel. “Because diversity has been growing little by little we get used to seeing people from diverse cultures at our Masses but we don’t always recognize the number or their participation.”

When people’s needs are not met by the church, the pastor mentioned it is easier for them to walk away. He is hopeful this is a starting place.

Thus far, two French Masses have been held at Mater Dei’s Immaculate Conception Church. The first Mass was offered in December and it was celebrated by a visiting priest from Africa with a celebration that followed. The most recent Mass was on Feb. 8 celebrated by Father Antoine Iyemangebe Malonga, a priest of the Society of the Divine Word who is studying English at Divine Word College of Epworth in the Archdiocese of Dubuque. Father Brad Pelzel concelebrated.

Group effort
One of the main organizers of this effort is Jerry Kapesa, whose strong devotion to the Catholic Church was instilled in him back home in Congo where he was the leader of the Catholic charismatic group in Kinshasa.

When he came to Sioux City, Kapesa knew there was a large French-speaking Catholic community “but noticed people are not coming to church,” he said speaking through Annie Kinwa-Muzinga who interpreted. He began asking questions about why they were not attending Mass and soon learned it was mainly about the language barrier because “English was difficult.”

Having a mutual desire to enrich the faith lives of the French speaking Catholic community, he joined forces with Thierry (Henry) Lukumwena to explore ways to bring the people back to church. That’s when the idea of having a French Mass came to light.

Lukumwena pointed out that prior to moving to Sioux City, he had lived in Illinois for nine years and French Mass was available in several communities there.

Because English can be a barrier to understanding and fully participating in the liturgy, He said offering Mass in their native language even once a month “allows people to be focused on prayer and the Mass.”

The men enlisted Kinwa-Muzinga, who is a professor at Morningside University, to speak with the parish and Father Pelzel. While he was supportive of this effort, the priest acknowledged the French language was not part of his skillset so he was open to the idea of seeking a French-speaking priest.

Lukumwena took on the task of searching for a priest in the region who could come to Sioux City possibly once a month to celebrate French Mass. For the Mass in December, it was a visiting priest friend who was able to celebrate Mass and he was able to help line up Father Antoine for the present Masses.

As a father of two, just as his father took him to church and entrusted him to God, it is important for him “to give them the gift of the church.”

Having a French Mass in Sioux City, noted Kinwa-Muzinga, was done “through a team effort.” She credited Kapesa for taking the time to unite the community for this purpose.

Father Antoine has agreed to celebrate Mass once a month through May as that is how long he will be in Iowa studying English. After that, he will be assigned to the community’s southern province and the distance may or may not allow him to continue celebrating these Masses in Sioux City.

Presence needed
He readily agreed to the monthly Masses “because they need my presence.”

The Mass on Feb. 8 ran 1 hour and 50 minutes, which they noted is typical for their culture as the priest explains each reading during the homily and then gives an overall message.
The young African priest from Congo noted that his first Mass went four hours.

“It was a good experience,” Father Antoine said. Having left his own country 10 months ago, the French Mass rekindled memories of celebrating the liturgy at home with big energy – to dance and sing was food for his soul. And was a little taste of home.

Another main contributor and organizer for the French Mass was Daniel Tambinzoni Ilunga, who led the choir.

“It’s important for me because in my country, I was choir director for more than 30 years,” he said, noting that when they first mentioned the possibility of a French Mass they began practicing. “I grew up with it. My father was an organist.”

Ilunga’s family also assisted at Mass. His wife was a lector as well as was part of the choir and his daughter was an altar server and cantor. Just as his father instilled the value of service in the church, he wants to pass that on in his family.

Organizers of the French Mass estimate there are about 200 French-speaking Catholics in Sioux City, mainly from Congo and Togo but a handful of other African countries also speak French. Each of the two Masses drew about 70 people so they are convinced more will attend in the future.

“I saw a lot of smiles on the faces of our people,” said Kinwa-Muzinga. “We are giving them something they wanted for a long time.”

Kapesa thanks God for the two French Masses so far and believes the liturgies have already made a positive impact on their community as it has brought back people to the church.
Given that this is the only French Mass offered in the area, they believe some French-speakers from Le Mars and Omaha may attend in the future.

More to come
Upcoming French Masses to be celebrated by Father Antoine at Immaculate Conception Church will be held at 1 p.m. on March 1, April 5 (Easter Sunday) and May 3. From there, Kinwa-Muzinga said they will evaluate the next steps based on the priest’s future assignment.

They all anticipate that Easter Sunday will draw a large crowd as they anticipate several baptisms during the liturgy.

“I will continue to pray for this new community,” said Father Antoine. “If we leave everything to God, I think it will be good.”

One of the key messages in the priest’s homily that stood out to Lukumwena is that the people “are the salt and light of the church” and they share in the mission of bringing fellow Catholics to the church and God.

Promoting the French Mass within their community is one way they can do that. From there it could expand to additional formation and catechetical opportunities.

If anyone is aware of French-speaking Catholics in the area, this group wants everyone to help spread the word about these Masses.

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