A number of people gathered in Kayove parish, Rutana diocese in Burundi to share the joy of celebrating the final Vows of Sr. Aurélie, on 15th of April 2023.
Ernestine Mukamana & Veronicah Khakasa, pre-postulants in the Community of Butare, share their impression of the celebration.
It was a memorable celebration for the Christians of Rutana. The parish team and the parishioners participated actively in the preparation of the event. They were engaged in the decorations, preparing the meal, serving people, animating the mass just to mention a few. It was touching to see the commitment of the people of Kayove parish in this celebration.
The Bishop Bonaventure Nahimana of Gitega celebrated mass and there were a good number of priests including diocesan and others from various religious congregation. There were also different religious who came to support our sister and to share the Joy with MSOLA and the people of Kayove.
Our congregation was very well represented by the sisters from Congo and Rwanda as well as the pre-postulants. It was a living testimony and a great occasion for vocation animation.
The presence of the young in formation added joy not only in celebration but also in the Gitega community. It was amazing to see how the young ones manage to communicate despite the language barrier (some could only speak French while others could only speak English). We sincerely thank the leadership team of ECA which allowed the significant number of MSOLA to take part in this event. For some of the pre-postulants it was the first time to witness the final vows of a MSOLA and it was encouraging for our vocational journey.
The mass celebration was enriched by the nourishing homily of Bishop Bonaventure, who invited Sr. Aurélie to love the Church which gave birth to her and took care of her. The Church helped Sr. Aurélie to love Jesus and to hear his voice. The Bishop also reminded the Christians that every baptized person has a mission of evangelization. He added that, one has to feel the joy of being saved so as to announce this Good New to others. The Bishop thanked Sr. Aurélie who accepted to be led by the voice of Christ and accepted to be send as a missionary in different country.
From there, the Bishop insisted by inviting the youth to give what they received by sharing with others the Good News.
The Bishop added that the people were happy to be in the celebration and he once more asked the young to listen to the Voice of Jesus and to respond generously to His call. The homily was very encouraging for the Christians, especially for the young.
After mass, there was a moment for sharing the meal and the speeches of thanks from different people. All the speakers expressed their gratitude towards Sr. Aurélie who accepted to follow Christ in the congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa. They also expressed their gratitude to the congregation, which accepted to celebrate this feast in the parish.
The reception was enriched by different traditional dance and it was amazing to see how well the young girls had prepared for the dances. Sharing the meal with the locals was very much appreciated, especially after the long restrictions of Covid-19.
In conclusion, one can say that, the final vows of Sr. Aurélie were memorable for many people, a number of Christians confirmed that it was the first time to witness the event of final vows and it was a great occasion for evangelization. We are grateful to have witnessed the final Vows of our Sister and we wish her a fruitful mission in Rwanda.
Ernestine Mukamana & Veronicah Khakasa, pre-postulants, Community of Butare
