They call themselves the ‘Loyola singers’, named for their patron St. Ignatius of Loyola. They are the young and vibrant St. Ignatius Parish Youth Choir and they are part of St. Ignatius Parish in Zambia.
With their almost 50 members the youth choir seeks to ‘spread the Gospel of our salvation through Jesus Christ’. They praise God with energy, beautiful songs and music during prayers and church activities. Recently part of the choir participated in World Youth Days in Poland. After they finished, the group took their music with them, visiting several cities in Poland. Through their performances they shared their faith and lively joy with Polish audience.
The youth choir’s activities, though, do not stop at singing.
The Loyola singers are also engaged in public service. Not only do they visit hospitals and prisoners, but they also feed the hungry and sing to those in need of consoling. They do everything in the Lord’s name, attempting to share Christ’s love and the Good News.
This video features the choir singing during Mass in their church. The song is in a local language – Bemba, which is the most widely spoken indigenous language in Zambia.
They sing a song of praise and devotion. The first song, called in Bemba ‘Nakula kutotela welesa wandi’ – means ‘I will be giving thanks to God’:
God is powerful // He has given me a father and a mother // I will give him thanks, God may I be your dear friend // I will be praising and thanking you my Go // I will glorify you in the morning, afternoon and evening // My God can you be with me
Magda Jakubiak
And today we celebrate...