16th Diocesan Youth Days in Bukavu
From our sister Lucile NZIGIRE, in Bukavu, Democratic Republic of Congo I was overjoyed when I arrived for holiday in my family and heard from the Abbot Chaplain to the young people in my home parish that the 16th Diocesan Youth Days (JDJ) for all 42 parishes in Bukavu Archdiocese would be held from 26 to 30 July in Murhessa. I quickly offered to accompany the young people from my parish and I don’t regret taking part in it at all. These diocesan days helped me to get closer to young people, to listen to them, to re-discover some of the challenges facing young people in my country and to share my missionary experience with some young people and some religious sisters and priests from our Archdiocese, especially those who didn’t know me at all. I was staying with the Daughters of Mary Sisters, who had given me the…
Taizé experience – Tlemcen, Algeria
From our sister Valérie Kabore, in Hydra, Algeria Dear Sisters, I am happy to share with you my experience of the Taizé meeting in Tlemcen (western Algeria). On Sunday, 20th August, we set off with a Sister of the Immaculate Conception from Ouagadougou, a Sister of Notre Dame du Lac from Bam, a Missionary of Africa trainee and a young Kenyan student… heading for Dar Essalam, the Focolare Welcome Centre in Tlemcen (a little over 500kms west of Algiers). There we met around sixty young students, most of them religious, and some natives of the country. The atmosphere was festive and serene. This event was initiated 18 years ago to support young students, almost all of whom come from sub-Saharan Africa and receive university scholarships in Algeria. A typical day at the Taizé Community is a busy one. It starts at dawn with the Eucharist (for Catholics), followed by Morning…
Cause of Beatification of Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA
Launching of the pastoral year 2023-2024 and solemn opening of the Cause of Beatification of Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA Pastoral agent in communion with the Christian family, be a witness of Christ This is the theme of this pastoral year 2023-2024. It was launched on Wednesday, September 27, 2023, at Ouagadougou Cathedral during the mass presided over by His Eminence Cardinal Philippe OUEDRAOGO, Metropolitan Archbishop of Ouagadougou (who has just been relieved from his service as archbishop). During this celebration there was the solemn opening of the cause for the beatification of Cardinal Paul ZOUNGRANA, one of the first three Burkinabé priests. As part of the march towards the 125th anniversary of evangelization in Burkina Faso (1900-2025), the Church family of Burkina invites each Christian to engage in the Church according to their particular vocation. For the smooth running of this jubilee, we began with the year of…
Sisters without a habit!
From sister Xaverine Mukatabaza, Malindi Community, Kenya I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26) Sr. Edith and I were invited to Chonyi Parish in Mombasa Diocese. It was a great joy for us as MSOLA to participate in the session of WANA MARIA. These young girls had their retreat of five days and we were invited to give a session on Vocation. What a surprise to see sisters without habits! These young girls are used to seeing sisters with veils, so to see sisters without habits was a great surprise for them. They thought at first that we were members of the Catholic Women’s Association (CWA). One of the women accompanists of the group welcomed us with the following words: It is our…
Pilgrimage of Juniorate
Dear Sisters, We are happy to share with you some important events that marked our Juniorate Pilgrimage. We set off on the 11th of September accompanied by our sisters Julia Alonso Martinez and Jeanne d’Arc Ouattara. From the beginning we were asked to be open and flexible as the problems with visa reshuffled our plans. Marietha Asimwe arrived on 10 September and Yollande Kandongo was able to join us only on 5 October. However, the new technologies came to our help and allowed us to start the program together. On September 14, the four juniorists Iwona Cholewińska, Magdalena Orczykowska, Marietha Asimwe and Yollande Kandongo we began our juniorate pilgrimage. During the opening Eucharist celebrated by Father Stan Lubungo, Superior General of the Missionaries of Africa, and in the presence of the sisters of the large community of the Generalate, the Superior General, Sister Angela Kapitingana, officially welcomed the juniorists for…
Ministry of JPIC
From our sister Maamalifar Poreuku, Executive Co-Secretary of the JPIC Commission USG-UISG My vocation is a childhood dream come true. Around the age of 6, some sisters called “mooda pele” often visited our village and my family. Mooda pele means “White Mothers”. I was so captivated by the name and their activities in the village that I wanted to be like them. This was what motivated me to want to go to school. When I reached the age of reason and went to school, I did not see them anymore, so I thought they had left the country. I met other congregations, but did not feel attracted to them. After completing my secondary education, not knowing if the mooda pele were still in Ghana and not being attracted to any other congregation, I thought my dream to become a white mother was an illusion. So, thinking of other plans,…
Encounter with the other
Our sister Margaret Kibola from Gumo, Ghana reports from Germany. From 24th August to 7th September, I was invited together with three others from the Holy Cross congregation to visit our partner parish and school in Germany, in the Diocese of Münster. We travelled from Ghana with Turkish Airways and on arrival, discovered that our bags were left in Istanbul. Our hosts communicated with their friends and we had already the first gesture of hospitality by going to a shop to choose what we wanted to wear. It was very touching. Then, my three friends were sent to one family and I was to live in the family of the headmistress of our partner school St. Lambert School. The program was very special as it was to expose us to different realities of parish life, society and school life. We visited many beautiful places and churches. The idea of volunteering is…
Official entry into the novitiate
From October 13 to 16, the pre-novices (from left) Mbaihamdéné Valérie, Cyarisima Divine, Kwatemba Kuyonzo Wilkista Agripina, Jovanie Nitunga, and Nodjitelsemba Solange went to Mater Christi for their retreat in preparation for the official start of the novitiate, which is a very important stage in religious training. They were accompanied by Sister Furaha Kamanyula who led their retreat. They arrived all happy and the community was happy to welcome them. October 18 was the day of the official return to the novitiate and the entry into heaven of Mother Marie Salomé; I was touched by the organization of the community which made a beautiful feast. Each of us gave the best of ourselves in the preparations. Our brothers the Missionaries of Africa came with their novices to pray with us. The Eucharistic celebration was celebrated by Fr. Emmanuel, M.Afr. In his homily, he told us that he did not…
Message of Pope Francis for World Mission Day
MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS FOR WORLD MISSION DAY 2023 (22nd October 2023) Hearts on fire, feet on the move (cf. Lk 24:13-35) Dear brothers and sisters! For this year’s World Mission Sunday, I have chosen a theme inspired by the story of the disciples on the way to Emmaus, in the Gospel of Luke (cf. 24:13-35): “Hearts on fire, feet on the move”. Those two disciples were confused and dismayed, but their encounter with Christ in the word and in the breaking of the bread sparked in them the enthusiastic desire to set out again towards Jerusalem and proclaim that the Lord had truly risen. In the Gospel account, we perceive this change in the disciples through a few revealing images: their hearts burned within them as they heard the Scriptures explained by Jesus, their eyes were opened as they recognized him and, ultimately, their feet set out on the way. By meditating…
Jubilee Celebration in Brussels
From our Sister Monique Bonami What a joy it was on Saturday August 19 to gather around the 3 jubilarians of the year: Sr Irma Declerq: 75 years of religious life, Sr Patricia Massart: 65 and Sr Marie-Paule Schiltz: 50. Early in the morning, our coordinator Claire and her husband Kim went to pick up Irma in Oostkamp (Bruges). Patricia came from Eureka (Evere) and Marie-Paule is on site: Evere St Joseph where we have 4 sites. An elevator breakdown gave us the opportunity to go not to the chapel, but to the dining room of the Sisters of the 3rd floor, which was well decorated for the occasion, and it was more familiar! Father Luc de l’Arbre, Miss. d’Afrique, celebrated the Eucharist, which began with the beautiful hymn “Jubilez, criez de joie”. We continued alternating between French and Flemish, ending with a song in Alur, a language of…