August 27, 2011, has become an historic date for the Oblate Delegation of Madagascar. On that date, our Congregation advanced a step by an expansion in the Indian Ocean. We now have a parish on the Island of La Réunion, some 800 km from Madagascar and an overseas department of France.
The Ordinary of La Réunion, Bishop Gilbert Aubry, officially inaugurated the first Oblate community in the Parish of St. John the Baptist.
The relationship and the cooperation between the Oblate Delegation of Madagascar and the diocese of La Réunion had begun some years before. This collaboration began especially with month-long substitutions by Oblate Fathers in several parishes of La Réunion during the summertime. Thanks to the good work of the Oblates and their sincere missionary witness during these periods of substitution, Bishop Gilbert decided to invite the Delegation to take a permanent place in his diocese.
In 2009, Fr. Marek OCHLAK, the Delegation Superior, and Fr. Adam SZUL, the Treasurer, made the first official visit to La Réunion in order to contact Bishop Gilbert. After this visit, the Delegation administration worked hard to get the permission to open this mission. Permission was finally granted, along with a change in the Delegation Statutes and the enlargement of the territory into Madagascar and La Réunion.
St. John the Baptist Parish is located in the eastern part of La Réunion. Canonically established on December 13, 1852, it has a long history and an important place in the hearts of the Christians of La Réunion. Its clock, originally built in 1885, is a symbolic spot for the parish and the people. The building itself has been reconstructed many times.
For now, the parish also includes two affiliated chapels which are visited regularly by the pastor, Fr. Andrzej SERWACZAK and his associate, Fr. Elysée RAHARINIRINA. There are presently some 12,000 members in the parish. (Deacon Marcin SERWIN dans Echo OMI Madagascar, février 2012)
