God’s Love Crosses Continents With African/Caribbean Music

Ten years ago, Sophie Nsougan had just immigrated to the United States from Togo in West Africa. While looking to find work, Nsougan took the opportunity to help introduce and integrate the unique sounds of her native country into the Mass at St. Joseph’s Church in Jamaica, Queens. 

It was a traditional blending of African rhythms with the steel drum sounds of the Caribbean islands. The result was the church’s first African Heritage Mass in 2013. According to Nsougan, it was a way to share her culture and allow everyone to embrace the world and the rhythm they left behind. 

“We would invite people from other Catholic churches to the Mass, and one year we had a priest come all the way from Togo, and another year we had a priest come from the West African country of Benin,” explained Nsougan. “We would also have kids dressed up in costumes from the motherland and they would bring different fruits like oranges and pineapples as offerings during the Mass,” she added. 

Father Chris J. Piasta, who has served as St. Joseph’s pastor since 2010, and is also the Catholic chaplain at LaGuardia and JFK Airports, credited Nsougan with being a vital force behind the African Heritage Mass. “She was probably one of the most, if not the most, engaged in preparing that Mass and sending out the information and visiting with African parishioners in the diocese,” he said.