The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa in the Netherlands reopened the exhibition “The White Caravan” in the Religious Heritage Center of St. Agatha – a little village near Cuijk/Nijmegen.
The exhibition was prepared for the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the “Lavigerie Family” (the Missionaries of Africa and the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa).
On well prepared panels you can read the history of both Congregations in the Netherlands during the past 150 years and their missionary work
in Africa. There are many African items such as: drums, textile prints, gifts, wooden animals or books, old cashbooks, chronicles, magazines, annual reports, letters, saving boxes for the mission, old suitcases, a motorbike, the old costumes of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa and the Missionaries of Africa, paintings, drawings of missionaries and Our Lady of Africa, as well as many old movies and pictures about missionary work in Africa in different countries. All this will help you set out on a journey in time and space!
The ceremony of opening the exhibition took place on 29 April 2018 in the presence of Sister Marie McDonald, the leader of Northern Europe Entity and Fr. Jozef de Bekker, Provincial Delegate of the Missionaries of Africa in the Netherlands. The celebration was animated by the Parish Choir of St. Charles Lwanga in The Hague. The 150 people present at the celebration ended up being drawn into the festive dance.
The exhibition will remain open until 21 October 2018 and, during this time five lectures will be given:
- 20th May: Dr. Thera Rasing, gender-anthropologist, will speak about the influence of mission on the position of women and girls in Zambia.
- 1st July: Dr. Ralf Bodelier, theologian/philosopher/journalist, will speak about positive news from Africa and his experiences in Malawi. He is the director of the media-platform: World’s Best News.
- 9th September: Prof. Frans Wijsen will speak about “reversed mission”, the presence of foreign religious in NL.
- 30th September: Teacher Marielle Polman will speak about Ubuntu-philosophy, which is very trendy nowadays.
- 21st October: M.Afr. Jozef de Bekker will speak about mission today and the future of MSOLA and M.Afr, and our priorities. This is World Mission Day and with this, the exhibition will close.
Photo: Herman Vermeulen of the Religious Heritage Center.
