the sons and daughters of Cardinal Lavigerie listen with an open heart (Cathedral of Bayonne)
Sr. Franceline Hien, coordinator of the JPIC-ED/MSOLA Network, feels the celebration of the bicentenary of Cardinal Charles Lavigerie (1825-2025) allowed us to revisit and reclaim his prophetic figure, dedicated to justice, peace, and human dignity.
On this occasion she imagines a message from Cardinal Lavigerie to his sons and daughters.
Let us listen to his message:
On the day after the close of the year celebrating the 200th anniversary of my birth and my 133rd birthday in heaven, I have a very important message for you: My sons and daughters, with the celebration of my birthday, a unique opportunity arose in which you renewed your zeal and passion for the African world.
I say to you once again:
- You are heirs to a prophetic struggle against slavery, to a fight against all forms of injustice; you are defenders of the freedom and dignity of every human being!
- You are heirs to a tradition of education as an essential tool for breaking the cycle of poverty and violence. In this way, you will establish real and lasting peace in the world, wherever you serve as missionaries.
- You are heirs to an approach based on encounter, bearing witness to life, respect and dialogue with believers of other world religions.
- You are heirs to a mission dedicated to peace among peoples.
- You are heirs to a universal compassion lived without any distinction between Christians and Muslims, and to charity in service to the most vulnerable.
My dear sons and daughters, you have no right to remain simply spectators to the injustice and suffering still endured by our human brothers and sisters, and even less to remain spectators to creation groaning in childbirth…
Today again, I urge you to pursue my dream of a reconciled, just, and fraternal world… Always be the voice of the voiceless…”
Yes, dear readers, through this bicentenary, we have recognized that the prophetic action of our Founder remains relevant today. For our commitment to Justice, Peace, and the Integrity of Creation, to encounter and dialogue between religions. All these continue to be the guiding thread of our mission. We all carry the dream of a world transformed according to God’s will.
Let us bless God, for through his struggles, our founder, Charles Lavigerie, sowed the seeds of an “outgoing Church”, a Church committed to promoting human dignity, intercultural dialogue, and universal fraternity. He leaves us this vibrant call, and his work remains a source of inspiration for us and for all those who, like us, work for Justice, Peace, the Integrity of Creation, and the Reconciliation and advancement of every human being.
Let us be witnesses of the Gospel through justice and peace, wherever God and the Congregation send us.
