9th September 2025 with Cardinal Lavigerie
Link to PDF 20250909 A year with CML 200
The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa: The Birth of a Congregation
The sisters in the courtyard of Saint Charles with the statue of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Africa, in the middle On September 9, 1869, eight young women from Brittany arrived in Algiers after a harrowing Mediterranean storm delayed their journey by a day. As their ship battled the tempestuous waters, Msgr. Lavigerie, Bishop of Algiers, waited anxiously and finally sent his blessing across the troubled sea, a prophetic gesture for the challenging path ahead. We remember the 8 September as the birth date of the congregation in remembrance of the blessing Cardinal Lavigerie sent across the stormy waters and in commemoration of the birth of the Virgin Mary, our patroness. Cardinal Lavigerie’s Vision for an African Missions In 1869 Msgr. Charles Lavigerie, Bishop of Algiers was facing a crisis. Cholera and famine had devastated Algeria, leaving countless orphans. He envisioned a missionary congregation specifically adapted to…