Relic of St. John Paul II heads to Equatorial Guinea
Don Victor Mooney presents Pope Francis with a wetsuit he wore on his first transatlantic rowing attempt at the Vatican on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2021.
At the Poland Embassy to the Holy See, Don Victor Mooney presents rowing oars to His Excellency, Ambassador, Mr. Janusz Kotański.
The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea.
Don Victor Mooney, an American with Equatorial Guinea nationality, received a relic from Poland before his audience with Pope Francis on World AIDS Day.
At the Poland Embassy to the Holy See, he was received by His Excellency, Ambassador, Mr. Janusz Kotański. After he shared his personal devotion to St. John Paul II, a pair of rowing oars was presented, which he used while training for his fourth transatlantic rowing attempt for AIDS awareness. The oars were painted in the national colors of Poland.
Mooney shared his story how, His Excellency, Mr. Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea gave him the funds to purchase a Brazilian built ocean rowboat to complete a solo row from Maspalomas, Gran Canaria to New York’s Brooklyn Bridge.
President Obiang later invited his family to Equatorial Guinea, where he was decorated, nationality granted, and given a home in the City of Peace, the administrative capital of the country.
Mooney talked about the beauty and religious significance of Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, which is perhaps the largest in Africa and that St. John Paul II visited Equatorial Guinea after religious freedom was restored following a period of tyranny from the previous leader.
He was presented with a relic of St. John Paul II, and a number of books. The Mooney family was later invited to Poland next year. The oars will have a new home at the Museum of John Paul II and Primate Wyszyński in Warsaw, according to the Ambassador. A short distance from the embassy, Mooney went to the historic Santo Stanislao dei Polacchi where he prayed.
In Italy, he visited the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life, The Pontifical Council for Culture and the Embassies of United States to Italy, Holy See, and FAO, Portugal Embassy to Holy See, Italian Tennis Federation Headquarters, and Our Lady of Guadalupe, the titular church for the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
In 2012, Equatorial Guinea donated $30 million to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to assist African countries with food shortages and improve food security across the continent.
After arriving in New York, Mooney and his wife flew to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he met Mr. Stephen Crissman, CEO of Coolie Nation and thanked him personally for their innovation. Coolie Nation designed the artwork on Mooney’s wetsuit that he presented to Pope Francis on World AIDS Day. Mooney visited Morehead City and Columbia, where he stopped during his row to New York. He ended his three-day visit at the Diocese of Raleigh.
Mooney is waiting for protocols to transfer the relic to the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Mongomo, Equatorial Guinea. The Mooney family visit to Italy was supported by the Diocese of Rockville Center, Apostolic Nunciature to the United States and Prefecture of the Papal Household.
Don Victor Mooney is the President of H.R. 1242 Resilience Project. H.R. 1242 Resilience Project coordinated the second largest commemoration for the 400 Years of African American History in the United States under the theme: 400 Years – Resilience, Faith, Healing, and Partnership.
Among other things, Mooney asked American diplomats in Italy if the U.S. State Department would intervene to help bring Harriet Tubman Day to the White House next year. The H.R. 1242 Resilience Project first edition commemorating Harriet Tubman Day in March 2020 was co-coordinated with then U.S. Senator Kamala Harris at the U.S. Capitol Visitors Centre. This was one of the last major events in the capital before Covid-19 shutdown America and the world.
H.R. 1242 Resilience Project (www.hr1242resilience.com)
Coolie Nation (www.coolienation.com)
Victor Mooney (www.victormooney.com)
Goree Challenge (www.goreechallenge.com)
Lisa Samuels
H.R. 1242 Resilience Project
+1 347-674-3238
contact@hr1242resilience.com
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
Other
EIN Presswire does not exercise editorial control over third-party content provided, uploaded, published, or distributed by users of EIN Presswire. We are a distributor, not a publisher, of 3rd party content. Such content may contain the views, opinions, statements, offers, and other material of the respective users, suppliers, participants, or authors.
