Vida Nova celebrates its 65th anniversary. It follows the joys, hopes and journeys of Mozambican society and the Church.

“Vida Nova” is a socio-religious magazine owned by the Archdiocese of Nampula, published under the responsibility of the Paul VI Catechetical Centre of Anchilo and the Comboni Missionaries present in Mozambique. It was founded on January 1, 1960 by the Missionaries of the Good News, a Portuguese congregation, with the name “La Boa Nova”. A few years later the magazine was soon administered by the Comboni Missionaries, who changed its name to “Vida Nova”.
Vida Nova is, to date, the only Catholic magazine distributed at a national level. With 14,000 copies printed every month. The magazine has uninterruptedly followed the joys, hopes, and journey of Mozambican society and Church for 65 years.
Its first editorial included: “It is difficult to say what Boa Nova (the magazine’s original name from 1960 to 1972) will become. However, the demands of global pastoral care, a program for better preparation of catechists, attention to the events of daily life and all those who proclaim the Gospel… all this will ensure that BOA NOVA will continue to grow and develop. It will be a bit like what we all are. If it receives everything from us, it will give us a lot!”.

Meeting of the catechists. Vida Nova is published under the responsibility of the Paul VI Catechetical Centre of Anchilo. File swm

The magazine has always accompanied the political, social and religious life of the country. On the eve of independence, it wrote: “Let us be prepared and, with our new government, let us work so that it is not a government that imposes orders, but that helps its people. A disembodied faith is sterile; incarnate faith is strength and life. We must find a way so that our faith is not alienation, but hope and commitment”.
This year also marks the 50th anniversary of independence from Portugal. Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in the world. Almost 64% of the population lives below the poverty line and the national budget still depends largely on external aid. Around 80% of the population lives from peasant agriculture, which is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. The repercussions of the 2016 debt crisis, the two cyclones of 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as terrorist attacks in the Cabo del Gado region of northern Mozambique since 2017, have caused more than 4,000 deaths and nearly a million refugees and internally displaced persons. Situations that have created serious suffering for the Mozambican people.

The life of the country
Celebrating the 65th anniversary of the founding of Vida Nova means remembering the events of more than six decades; it is interpreting and updating today’s events in the light of the Word of God and the teaching of the Church to better understand the society in which they live.
The general elections of October 2024 have put the life of the country to the test. Vida Nova writes: “The people have not found a better future in the electoral promises. They have also lost absolute confidence in the electoral process and its organization, a process tainted by alleged fraud and political insensitivity that favours the interests of a few at the expense of the many. It seems that the lack of a long-term political vision has made our leaders visually impaired, incapable of doing good to all strata of the population.”

The only Catholic magazine distributed nationally. Monthly circulation of 14,000.

Vida Nova continues: “To understand better, let us remember what F. Fanon wrote in 1961 in his book “The Wretched of the Earth”, in which he analysed colonial domination, the struggles for national liberation and the prospects of a new governance, because his message is very current for all movements and parties, old and new, in Mozambique. Fanon said: ‘That party that proclaimed itself the servant of the people and worked for their full emancipation, as soon as power was handed over to it, rushed to send the people back to their caves… The party is not an instrument in the hands of the government. The party is an instrument in the hands of the people. It is the party that establishes the policy that the government must apply. The party is not, and must never be, the only political body in which all the members of the government and the great dignitaries of the regime feel completely at ease. We must never lose contact with the people who fought for their independence and for the concrete improvement of their existence.’”

Mozambique flag sign with an arrow. This year marks the 50th anniversary of Mozambique’s independence. 123rf

Vida Nova’s editorial dedicated to the post-election period denounces: “If the gap between those in power and those governed continues to widen, if those in power are deaf to the cries of young people who do not see their dreams come true, and if those in power are unable to ensure that the natural wealth that Mozambique has can benefit everyone, then there will always be those who will demand justice and truth and the seed of discontent will continue to grow until it explodes
in the entire society.”
On January 15, the new president Daniel Chapo of Frelimo, the party that has governed the country since independence from Portugal in 1975, took office in Mozambique. The Constitutional Court awarded Chapo the victory of the presidential elections of October 9, but the results were contested by the opposition in the large protests of recent months, in which almost 300 people were killed. The protests continued during the day of the inauguration, and at least seven more people were killed. Some areas of the capital Maputo had been militarized for the occasion: many streets near the parliament had been closed to traffic and the parliament area was flown over by military planes and helicopters.

The Catholic Bishops of Mozambique. Faced with the situation of violence that has overwhelmed the country, the bishops have called for the restoration of truth and electoral justice, which are the main causes of the protests. (Photo CEM)

Faced with the situation of violence that has overwhelmed the country, the Catholic bishops of Mozambique have called for the restoration of truth and electoral justice, which are the main causes of the protests.
The lack of confidence in the results of the electoral process was the main cause of the demonstrations organized peacefully, but which became violent due to the actions of infiltrated opportunists and the often-exaggerated responses by the police.
Vida Nova quotes the bishops’ document: “The application of the electoral law in the counting of votes at the national level by the competent authorities, in itself, cannot guarantee reliable results if the data is not reliable. Certifying a lie is fraud… We, the Catholic bishops of Mozambique, ask all those directly involved in this electoral process and the conflict generated to make the exercise of recognition of guilt, forgiveness and the courage of truth, the path that allows a return to a normal situation in a country that wants to be alive and active and not silenced by the fear of violence. Mozambique must not return to violence! Our country deserves truth, peace, tranquillity and tolerance! We pray for peace; we are artisans of justice and witnesses of the truth.” (A.B.)