The "Bishop Leon Lemmens House" is the new Sant'Egidio centre in Jos, the capital of Plateau State. The ribbon for the inauguration, in the presence of 200 guests, was cut by Mgr Matthew Audu, Archbishop of Jos, and Jan De Volder of the Community of Sant'Egidio.
It was built with the support of the bequest of Mgr Leon Lemmens who was auxiliary bishop of Mechelen-Brussels. He was in the Community of Sant'Egidio since his youth, and passed away in 2017. The centre houses Sant'Egidio's activities for the city's street children and elderly, such as the "Long live the elderly" programme. The house is also used to promote inter-religious relations between Muslims and Christians. A plaque at the entrance commemorates Bishop Lemmens, described as a 'friend of the poor and a man of peace and dialogue'.
Indeed, peace and dialogue are at the heart of this House, which stands in a place, such as the city of Jos, that has been the scene of bloody violence with ethnic-religious connotations over the past two decades.
