logo english transparent 500px
  • About US
    • Who we are
    • Our Spirituality
    • History
      • Cardinal Lavigerie
      • Mother Marie Salomé
      • Our Lady of Africa
      • Our first sisters
    • Past & Present
      • Bicentenary of the birth of Caridnal Lavigerie
      • Our Lady of Africa family
      • General Chapter
      • 150th Anniversary
    • Contacts
  • Mission
    • Women with women
    • Education
    • Pastoral work
    • Justice & Peace
    • Health & social work
    • Our Apostolic Orientations
      • Interreligious and Intercultural Encounter -Dialogue
      • Migration, refugees, and internally displaced persons
      • Modern slavery and human trafficking
      • Care of the environment
    • Our Projects
  • Vocation
    • Missionary vocation
    • Join us
    • Stages of formation
    • Forms of belonging
  • Agenda
  • Resources
    • Extraordinary life stories
    • Prayers
    • Library
    • Jubilarians
    • Entered into eternal life
    • Links
  • French
Menu
  • About US
    • Who we are
    • Our Spirituality
    • History
      • Cardinal Lavigerie
      • Mother Marie Salomé
      • Our Lady of Africa
      • Our first sisters
    • Past & Present
      • Bicentenary of the birth of Caridnal Lavigerie
      • Our Lady of Africa family
      • General Chapter
      • 150th Anniversary
    • Contacts
  • Mission
    • Women with women
    • Education
    • Pastoral work
    • Justice & Peace
    • Health & social work
    • Our Apostolic Orientations
      • Interreligious and Intercultural Encounter -Dialogue
      • Migration, refugees, and internally displaced persons
      • Modern slavery and human trafficking
      • Care of the environment
    • Our Projects
  • Vocation
    • Missionary vocation
    • Join us
    • Stages of formation
    • Forms of belonging
  • Agenda
  • Resources
    • Extraordinary life stories
    • Prayers
    • Library
    • Jubilarians
    • Entered into eternal life
    • Links
  • French
Search
Close this search box.
Youtube

What did Lavigerie want when he founded the congregation in 1869?

femmes apôtres Ouagadougou 2016 Copie

Apostles!

That is to say women having hearts burning with “a strong and ardent love” for JESUS CHRIST and belonging totally to Him. He destined these apostles for AFRICA.

 

lAfrique un appelTo proclaim the Good News of Christ to the African peoples: “Tell them that this Jesus, whose cross you show them, died on it to bring all the freedoms to the world, freedom of souls against the yoke of evil, freedom of conscience against the yoke of the persecutors, freedom of the body against the yoke of slavery.” (June 3, 1879)

To achieve this goal and to prepare women-apostles dedicated to the apostolate among the women, religious life was for him the indispensable basis. Following Christ has always been the foundation of consecrated life.

 

His understanding of religious life passed through several important phases:

As a historian–professor of Church history at the Sorbonne–he was first impressed by the work of the monks–religious, educational and civilizing.During his trip to Syria, he discovered the apostolate of women religious. This was surely for him the most meaningful experience. He saw them go two by two into the villages, visiting and healing people, without distinguishing between religions or ethnicities. He saw them respected, loved by all, even Muslims in this region shaken by interreligious massacres. He was also struck by the influence of missionaries …

CaritasPélicanThen as bishop of Nancy (1863-1866), with responsibility for religious institutes in his diocese, he was very concerned by the lack of formation of sisters teaching in diocesan schools. He began working to get them qualifications equal to that of the state teachers.

On his arrival in Algiers in 1867, he discovered seven feminine religious congregations whose apostolate was oriented toward the colonizers. It was clear that the French Government saw the role of Lavigerie in this line. But he did not see it like that.

 

 

Lavigerie’s Project: three missionary institutes for Africa

In October 1867, the Cardinal created a masculine society dedicated to the apostolate in Algeria and Africa, The Missionaries of Africa. He opened a postulate and entrusted its management to a Jesuit, Father Vincent, whom he asked to draft rules for the Fathers, and also for two other institutions that he intended to found: Sisters and Brothers. So with these Rules, existing even before the search of candidates, in 1869 he sent copies to the bishops of France whom he contacted about recruiting vocations.

 

soeurs ouagadougou 2016The two important aspects of religious life in the congregation:

By linking commitment for Africa in the formula of vows, Cardinal Lavigerie introduced two important aspects of religious life in the congregation:
– The total gift to God through the three vows
– The consecration of one’s whole being to God’s Reign in Africa

The missionary orientation of the Institute, present from the beginning, has gradually been clarified over the years. If the vows are the means by which to make a total gift to Christ, they also have a community and apostolic dimension: “The sisters are linked together and to the common work by religious vows.”

For the founder, the religious missionary life is deeply ONE. It is in and through the apostolate that the sisters are called to live and grow in loving union with God.

 

  • September 6, 2016
  • 9:56 am
  • Actualities, Cardinal Lavigerie
  • Lavigerie, Missionaries in Africa, Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, Missionary vocation, MSOLA, White Sisters
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp
RELATED POSTS
25th May 2025 with Cardinal Lavigerie
May 24, 2025
24th May 2025 with Cardinal Lavigerie
May 23, 2025
23rd May 2025 with Cardinal Lavigerie
May 22, 2025
50 years of MSOLA presence in Mauritania!
May 22, 2025
22nd May 2025 with Cardinal Lavigerie
May 21, 2025
21st May 2025 with Cardinal Lavigerie
May 20, 2025
Copyright 2022 - All rights reserved
Privacy Policy
Manage Cookie Consent
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Manage options Manage services Manage vendors Read more about these purposes
View preferences
{title} {title} {title}
Facebook