Will the old cracked Catholic Diocese of Torit church building ever be rebuilt?
“The Engineers advised that it is very dangerous to pray inside. That’s why now we are praying at the shelter here. It’s risky (and) dangerous because of the vibration of the voice. It can collapse that’s why it is left like that.”
By Ibasi Patricia Tobs
Dust, cobwebs, gaps in the floorboards, holes in the walls, rusted iron sheets, rotting rubbish, multiple cracked walls, bare windows and doors are some of the words that now defines the fate of the 101 – year – old Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral building which was built in 1920.
The church has been left in a dilapidated state due to the long civil war between the Muslim Arabs of Sudan and the Anyanya rebel movement that was defend Christians in the South at the time, the Parish Priest of Saint Peter and Paul Cathedral, Father Kamilo Afore Arkadio says. The priest says the first church building was much more beautiful and bigger than the current one.
“The first one was bombed by the Arabs during the Anyanya war, it was shelled and immediately the roof collapsed,” Arkadio told The Insider.
“The Arabs were fighting against the Christianity at the same time then it was only when the portion of this land became a diocese in 1983 with Paride as its first Bishop of Torit.”
It was then that Bishop Paride Taban first started renovating and reconstructing the church. Before 1983 when Torit was declared a diocese, Taban was the Vicar General of Juba diocese.
The church building that has been vacated, unoccupied, abandoned and left in a state of grave disrepair for long, is strewn with trash but fortunately, it’s not scrawled with drawings. At least not yet.
At a certain time, the congregation used to hold their masses in the ramshackle church. But not anymore. Thanks to engineers who advised against the idea.
“The Engineers advised that it is very dangerous to pray inside. That’s why now we are praying at the shelter here. It’s risky (and) dangerous because of the vibration of the voice. It can collapse that’s why it is left like that.” Says Arkadio.
The Catholic Diocese of Torit has a rich history. Apart from surviving bombs that were intentionally shelled on the church building during the Arab-Christians wars in the then Sudan, the Parish still received missionaries.
“It was one of the out stations from Juba Vicario, this fortune of the land, the whole of Eastern Equatoria, was part of the Juba Vicario and from Juba the missionaries came.”
According to Arkadio, together the missionaries renovated the remains of the parish building in 1983 and it became a diocese that same year with retired Emeritus Bishop Parade Taban, as its first Bishop. Paride Taban spearheaded the reconstruction of the dilapidated church building. Now the fate of the building is in limbo as the Parish struggles to get funds to reconstruct the church into its old, fine, delightful, attractive and glories days. Efforts have been made in order to reconstruct it but all-in vein says the priest.
“some people had already donated, given some funds for the reconstruction of the parish, the church here. So up to now it is still, we are still looking forward, we are not desperate.” Arkadio said, revealing that several donors promised to fund the reconstruction. One of them is, Lopepe Lomong, a South Sudanese – American athlete from Kimotong Parish, a Buya village in Budi County in Eastern Equatoria.
Lomong was a semifinalist of the 1500 meters category at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
Priest Arkadio says Lomong’s pledge to rebuild the church came through the Sudan Arise Company in America but that pledge turned out unsuccessful. Arkadio appeals for support to rebuild the church.
“I am concerned because in the shelter here, we’re all the time bud by the wind so it becomes uncomfortable.” The priest confessed.
This year is the Centenary year of the Catholic Diocese of Torit. The church will celebrate its 100th anniversary in a temporary shelter erected on the compound.“It would have been very conducive to be in the church inside the cathedral and I wish this cathedral would be reconstructed and of course, it needs funds and I am appealing for the people to come forward. We need to reconstruct our cathedral.” Arkadio pleas.
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