Dare to dream of a new creation!
This is the Letter of the General Council on the 154th anniversary of the birth of the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of the Our Lady of Africa. Rome, 8th September 2023 Ladies! If it’s just us to get started, it’ll be lovely! Dare to dream of a new creation! Dear Sisters, Happy feast day of the birth of our Lady and our Congregation! From the very beginning our Congregation has been on a journey of transformation within itself and within the Church. Our first heroic Sisters from Brittany, responding to the call of Cardinal Lavigerie, embarked on an adventure…
Openness to other forms of belonging to the congregation
A little sharing about the emerging group: The Lavigerie group is a newly born group in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) made up of lay associates (wishing to share our charism) at the invitation of the General Council to open our doors to different groups who wish to share our charism and spirituality. It is a group animated by the spirit of love and mutual aid. The members easily take initiatives. They are together in both joyful and sorrowful moments. For example, when a death occurs, there is communication and then the delegation goes to present condolences to the family. We have already celebrated happy events such as Valentine’s wedding and the final vows of Sr. Beatrice Badini. During the preparations for the vows of Sr. Béatrice, they helped us a lot and a group was even formed to give a hand with the needed services. On the day of the…
Days 20 and 21 – Transformed people transform other people
On the 20th day of the chapter the prayer was centred on listening to the source within us that tells us to love, a living water that becomes a river that takes us to the ocean… to a land that awaits to become the temple of a God who makes himself present. A presentation of Masaru Emoto on Crystals of water showed us how everything we do and think, even the words and the manner in which they are spoken, influence those around us and the milieu…. This affirms the importance of living a deep spirituality and having loving attitudes, to generate positive energy. I can be love or destruction, the choice is mine! If a “thank you” changes a molecule of water, imagine what prayer, love, brotherhood, courage, and friendship can do around us and in the world. I have the power to change the situation. “It all…
Perpetual vows of Sister Béatrice Wêndpouiré Badini
On Sunday, the 23rd of April 2023, in the parish church of St. John XXIII, a parish of the Archdiocese of Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso run by the Missionaries of Africa, Sister Badini Wéndpouiré Beatrice pronounced her perpetual vows. It was a great joy for us Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, as well as the Badini and Sawadogo families. After 9 years of temporary vows, she pronounced her perpetual ‘YES’ to follow Christ according to the charism of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (MSOLA). Her vows were received by Sister Celina Natanek, of the North West Africa Entity Leadership Team (NOUA), during a mass presided over by Monsignor Justin Kientega, Bishop of Ouahigouya (the diocese of Beatrice). Concelebrating with him were 14 priests including Beatrice’s younger brother, Father Damien Badini. Sister Beatrice made her postulancy in Ouagadougou in 2010 – 2012, then, she did…
Day 19 – Bringing to Birth…
The morning prayer asked: What shall we bring to birth in the new creation, in our communities, in the MSOLA family, in our partners. The response expressed the desire to carry: a new culture of collaboration, a safe space for sharing our views and opinions, our contribution to the African world, a caring and benevolent attitude, unconditional acceptance of each person. The list was quite long with the attitudes lived during the chapter. We prayed to the Risen Lord, sure that He will accompany us along the way and give us the strength to realise our dreams, wherever we go. Everyone is busy preparing the final documents. This makes us sense the end of the chapter and the beginning of new life in our communities, in our congregation and in all creation. Today we looked at the journey made during this chapter and where the Spirit has…
Day 18 – The Journey Done
During the morning check-in we were reminded again of the phrase of Mahatma Gandhi “Be the change you want to see in the world” and we add “in the community and in the MSOLA.” This time and the atmosphere of trust created in the chapter-community have allowed us to deal without fear with issues coming from deep levels, dreams, but also important and difficult issues, in an atmosphere of intense listening. All through this chapter we have gone through a deep experience of transformation. The experience lived here tells us that we can create an environment where truth can emerge, be listened to without judgment and be healed. We have seen that repressed anger is a big issue that does not allow life to circulate, and we need to deal with it, as we all carry wounds, and we all need to be healed. Then we will become…
Day 17 – Honouring deep democracy
The morning prayer was centred on the fact that Earth, filled with God’s family (all people and all creation and the richness of our diversity) belongs to all. We are all connected to the earth and to one another, all wounded but participating in God’s healing creation, all connected to one another with respect, humility, patience, open mindedness, and the spirit of forgiveness we have received in Christ Jesus. Each one is worthy of being respected and cared for. We commit ourselves to work together, to build God’s kingdom here today: equality, sharing, compassion, reconciliation will be our way, so that this world may become a place where all people live in justice, freedom and peace. Through what we have lived these days we are becoming aware that we are like a tapestry welcoming our differences and showing our similarities. . The daily morning “checking in”, as a…
Our new General Council
The new General Council: Sr Angela Nemilaki Kapitingana, Tanzania (Superior General) Sr Jeanne d’Arc Ouattara, Burkin Faso (Assistant General) Sr Leticia Garduño, Mexico(Assistant General) Sr Małgorzata (Gosia) Popławka, Poland(Assistant General) Sr. Angela Nemilaki Kapitingana (Superior General) I was born on 5th January 1969, of Tanzanian nationality. I started my religious formation with the MSOLA in Mwanga –Singida (Tanzania) in 1991. I joined the postulate in Arusha in 1992-1993. I had two years of apostolic experience in Mufulira (Zambia); then I joined the novitiate in 1996. I made my first profession in Arusha on 25th March 1998 and my final vows on 25th September 2005 in Arusha. I have lived my mission in Mufulira (Zambia), in Kisubi (Uganda) and then in Arusha (Tanzania) as formator at the postulate. Then I was sent to South B, in Nairobi (Kenya), to Kigali (Rwanda), and to Kasongo and…
Day 16 – Dealing with the past and moving forward
The present moment of the chapter is seen as new life but, like it happens in the seed, the splitting of the seed-shell is painful. We all carry this new life within us, but also the pain of letting go. We need a lot of compassion and patience in our hearts, feeling responsible for one another as we live this painful moment with compassion and respect. Each one of us is responsible for the new MSOLA plant that is developing. As in the Ninfa Garden we visited yesterday, where something new has been built on the ruins of the past, in the MSOLA congregation too, each generation is adding something to the present garden. Today, we need to add our newness to the congregation. The difficulty we had with the technology at the beginning of the prayer showed us that even if things have been well prepared, any…
Day 15 – A marvellous Sunday
On the Sunday after the elections, an outing had been planned for those of us who wanted to visit the small town of Cori and the Ninfa gardens in the Lazio region, south of Rome. The weather forecasted rain but to our surprise, as we waited for the bus, the rain stopped. All along the way, the sky and the mountains were covered with clouds, but as we approached the province of Latina, where Cori is located, the clouds started to dissipate. On the way we saw some small towns on the hilltops. Sr Gisela had prepared maps and directions on what to see in Cori. When we arrived, spontaneous groups formed and we set off in different directions to discover the old town, which already existed 350 years before Christ. Its narrow, medieval streets were decorated with banners, flags and exterior window hangings of the Virgin Mary.…