On July 20, Card. Robert Sarah celebrates his 50th anniversary as a priest. He says his vocation began when he saw missionaries getting up before dawn to pray.
CARD. ROBERT SARAH
Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship
“When I was a little boy, I asked myself, 'What are these men doing in silence, in the dark?' This is because there was no electricity in my village. I thought 'surely they're talking to someone they see and know.'”“And when one of them asked me, 'Do you want to go to the seminary?' I didn't know what it was. I asked, 'What do you do there?' He said 'There you go to become like us.' I said yes. I wanted to meet that Person they saw in the silence and darkness of the chapel.”
The years have passed and he still remembers the generosity of these missionaries who came to his land to help the Africans.
CARD. ROBERT SARAH
Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship
“They came not to gain anything, but to serve us, to save us, just as Christ did. He did not come to gain, but to give His life. They gave their life and some died very young.” 'Therefore, for me, to be a priest is to imitate these missionaries who communicated their faith to me. I want to be like them.”
The cardinal has worked in the Vatican since 2001. He has collaborated with John Paul II, Benedict XVI and now Pope Francis. For this reason, he is saddened he is presented as an opponent of the pope.
CARD. ROBERT SARAH
Prefect, Congregation for Divine Worship
“I'm calm because I'm loyal to the pope.” “They cannot quote a word, a phrase, a gesture with which I oppose the pope. It is ridiculous, it is ridiculous. I am at the service of the Church, the Holy Father and God. This is enough.” “There people write this kind of stuff to create opposition, against the Holy Father, between bishops or cardinals. It is ridiculous. We must not fall into this trap. We must continue to teach. I don't care what they say.”
The cardinal has just published his third book. In it he deals with the consequences of the crisis of faith in the contemporary world. It is entitled “The Day Is Now Far Spent” and is dedicated to all the priests of the world, to Benedict XVI and to Pope Francis.
