80 years old, Mauritian by birth and a Spiritan (of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit - CSSp.) By vocation, Cardinal Piat has been a bishop since 1991, and succeeded by coadjutorship to the helm of the diocese of Port Louis in 1993. He received the cardinal's biretta from Pope Francis in 2016 as a result of his constant and fruitful commitment to the poorest.
Your Eminence, why did you come to Rome from Port Louis?
I came to talk to him about an extremely important project for the Church and the whole country. It is a project that concerns poor and defenseless young people, those who cannot attend school and national educational programs. With them in mind, we want to offer technical-vocational education, so that they can develop their talents, because they do have them! But they are manual talents, practical talents, talents of the trades.
In Mauritius, this type of formation already exists, but it is too little compared to the needs. Furthermore, due to the colonial past, education in schools is offered in English - a language too distant from Creole and French, which are the languages spoken by most of these young people. Place names, liturgical celebrations, shows on TV… everything is offered in French, except for school lessons. So these kids end up being left on the streets and victims of drugs and all kinds of addictions. But when on the other hand, we have seen clearly, through some limited experience, that when these kinds of skills are offered in French or Creole, young people learn quickly.
The result is that today we have a shortage of our own local skilled labor, a youth unemployment rate at 24%, while we import technicians from other countries. This is why I always say that it is not just a project for the good of the Church or the young, but for the whole country!
And what did the Pope say to you?
The Holy Father listened to us with great attention and understood the problem perfectly. Also because he himself got to know the reality of the Mauritius Islands in person, during his visit two years ago, and already at the time he clearly stated that young people are the first mission of the Mauritian Church.
What is your connection with the Salesians?
I first met the Salesians in the late 1990s, when the Brothers of St. Gabriel, who had a small technical school in Mauritius, left the country due to a lack of vocations. The then Apostolic Nuncio advised me to ask the Salesians, who were doing some fine work of the same kind in Madagascar. So, when I came to Rome in 1998 for the Synod of Bishops, I spoke about it with the then Rector Major, Fr Juan Edmundo Vecchi, who was very quick to act and immediately sent a Salesian, Fr Luigi Zuppini, to study the situation. And on 8 December 2000, the anniversary of the birth of Don Bosco's Oratory, the first Salesian pioneers officially arrived in the country.
So today, what objective do you set yourself?
The "Saint Gabriel - Don Bosco" Technical Institute already exists; it belongs to the diocese, but is entrusted to the Salesians, and offers Technical-Vocational, human and spiritual formation to about 250 young people; with this project, we would like to reach 1,200 young people. The Salesians have also purchased adjacent land to allow for the expansion of the institute - which, moreover, is located near a missionary parish, always entrusted to the Salesians.
Your Eminence, can you also tell us about the reality of the Mauritius Islands ...
Historically, Mauritius had a strong sugar industry and recognized expertise in that sector; but then the collapse of prices caused a great crisis, from which they emerged with the diversification of production, and in particular with the development of the textile industry and large-scale tourism. The result has been strong growth and an improvement in the standard of living of the average citizen. But a portion of the poor population is still present, which has remained on the margins, discarded.
So today the country has a commercial facade of a natural paradise, with beautiful beaches and crystal clear sea - and, mind you, all of this is true! - But there is also the other side of the coin, that of the poor people, whom our project wants to address.
What then are the Church's priorities?
First of all, the Church of Mauritius has made a fundamental option for the poor, aimed at researching and promoting human development. At the same time, we work to promote in all spheres and sectors - in the family, at work, in parishes… - an authentic faith, which is not just a cultural legacy inherited from previous generations. Moreover, in the Mauritian context, with 50% of the population Hindu and 18% Muslims, the Church cannot fail to work for dialogue and peace, which always requires justice.
You are also President of the Episcopal Conference of the Indian Ocean. Would you like to talk to us about this position?
Actually, the Conference includes the smallest islands of the Indian Ocean: Mauritius, Reunion, the Seychelles, the Comoro Islands and the Apostolic Vicariate of Rodrigues, which covers one of the Mauritius Islands. What I can emphasize is that in our gatherings, which are not easy to organize, given the distances that separate us, not only bishops participate, but also priests and religious, nuns, laity ... We try to share successful projects and good practices among us, and above all to cultivate fraternity.
In short, in our part, synodality is already an ongoing process.
And I want to add a comment, which I heard these days in the Vatican and which I make my own: today's Synod on Synodality is certainly a child of the 2018 Synod on Youth, when the participating bishops experienced first hand the beauty of working and walking together with young people.
What is the situation on the island after the environmental disaster of summer 2020, when an oil tanker poured thousands of liters of oil into the sea?
It must be said that fortunately it was possible to sufficiently clean up the lagoon, the space between the beach and the reef. Still today, however, part of the wreck is visible in the water, and there are stretches of coast and sea that have been damaged, with the consequent loss of work by many fishermen. Caritas is helping them, but for many of them it was not only an economic loss, but a culture shock, because the sea has always been their whole life.
In conclusion, do you have a message for the Salesian Family?
I want to say thanks to the Salesians, the men and women religious and all the laity of the Salesian Family! For the love you have for young people and for the competence, the know-how you have and know how to convey in working with them.
