Story Behind the Poster
Catechist Pio Lokuru found himself in mortal peril in 1992 when government soldiers recaptured the town of Kapoeta during Sudan's civil war. The strong Islamic element ruling Sudan at the time attempted to force the people to become Muslims. The government accused Pio of "making the people feel strong." Part of the torture he endured was having his hands tied behind his back and chilli-peppers put into his eyes. Some of those suffering with him were government soldiers who were arrested going to prayer and Pio had been the one gathering the Christian community to pray on Sundays. It was not the first time Pio found himself in custody. He had already survived imprisonment and torture at the hands of the Sudan People's Liberation Army [SPLA] when they captured the town from the government army four years earlier. The SPLA suspected all the residents of being supporters of the government and treated them accordingly. While Pio filled every day of his captivity with "Prayers, Rosary and Songs", not everybody survived the ill-treatment at the time. Now, in his agony at the hands of the government army, Pio had time to reflect on this extraordinary turn of events. His earlier arrest may have been an unfortunate consequence of war, but the charge against him now was accurate.
Faith Commitment
Pio Lokuru was baptized in Kapoeta in 1941 by Comboni Missionaries who had opened a mission there six years earlier. As a young boy, he liked learning and would gather other young people around him and teach them songs. He trained as an elementary teacher specialising in religious education and the vernacular, and taught in the primary school in Kapoeta. He married Lucia in 1962, a very important event for him as polygamy is part of the culture among his people - the Toposa. Shortly afterwards, the Comboni Missionaries were expelled and there was no resident priest. So, Pio and other catechists kept the Church alive in Kapoeta: leading Sunday prayers, teaching catechism, and preparing those for baptism. When the St Patrick's Missionaries went to work in south Sudan in 1983, Pio helped them to learn the language when they first came to Kapoeta. They made a conscious decision at the time to concentrate on training the catechists. Pio was the head catechist at that time. He maintained that these
courses gave him the strength and grace he needed to face great difficulties and persecutions. He attended the National Eucharistic Congress held in Juba in 1984. He also attended the International Eucharistic Congress in Nairobi in 1985, which was also attended by Pope John Paul II. Those two events helped Pio realize the Church is universal: from every tribe, tongue, people and nation. After these events he expressed his conviction, "Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life". When civil war broke out again, the missionaries had to leave Kapoeta and Pio and others continued to lead Sunday prayers and teach the word of God. When the missionaries returned in 1990, they found Pio at his work. He was living in a village some six kilometres outside Kapoeta by 1992, and every Sunday morning he would come to town to lead the people in prayer.
A Man of God
As Pio looked back over his life he knew there was more than enough evidence against him as he wasn't going to convert. When the government soldiers would come into his cell they would find him kneeling and praying. They would probably have killed him but some local people went to the government and told them that if something happened to Pio it would alienate the Toposa people who regarded him as a man of God. Pio was released and continued to do what he always did - teach the word of God and lead prayers on Sunday. With no priest allowed to enter Kapoeta following his release and with the nearest priest in Narus, 75 kilometres away, Pio would go to Narus to meet the priest there. Sometimes he would arrange to bring people through the forest to a village where the priest would baptize those Pio had prepared for the Sacrament. Pio more than confirms what Pope Benedict XVI wrote in his message for Mission Sunday this year, "Faith is strengthened when it is given to others!" The Holy Father goes on to say,
"Evangelization is a complex process and includes various elements. Among these, in missionary animation particular attention has always been given to solidarity. This is also one of the objectives of World Mission Day, which, through the Pontifical Mission Societies, appeals for help to carry out evangelizing activities in mission territories. It involves supporting institutions necessary for establishing and consolidating the Church through catechists, seminaries, priests; and also giving one's own contribution to improve the living conditions of people in nations where poverty, malnutrition, above all infantile malnutrition, diseases, lack of health care services and education are most serious."
A Time of Hope
South Sudan gained its independence on July 9 this year and Pio, now 84 years of age, was among the many millions who celebrated this achievement. There is peace in Sudan now, however fragile it is in some parts. He hopes for peace and unity among people. He abhors the culture of cattle raiding that is part of the local tradition between the Toposa and the Buya peoples and he is forever preaching to his people to stop cattle raiding. He regards other tribes and peoples as his own brothers and sisters in Christ. Naturally, he would not wish to return to war or any kind of fighting again. His prayer is the prayer of Jesus in John's Gospel "May they all be one".