Living a year with Cardinal Lavigerie in Malawi: awareness, celebration, and mission
By Sr. Mbaihamndene Valerie, Lilongwe community, Malawi As a community in Malawi, we would like to share how we lived and celebrated a year with Cardinal Lavigerie, the founder of the Missionaries of Africa (M.Afr.) and the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (MSOLA). To begin with, we organized two radio programs and one television program. The main purpose of these programs was to raise awareness and help people learn more about Cardinal Lavigerie, his mission, and his lasting impact in Africa. These media platforms gave us a valuable opportunity to speak about Lavigerie commitment to anti-slavery, the fight against human trafficking, child labor, exploitation, and corruption. We also highlighted what Lavigerie accomplished in Africa through his missionaries, especially here in Malawi. Inspired by Cardinal Lavigerie deep love and passion for children, we celebrated his life together with the children at Tikondane. The day was lively…
Cardinal Lavigerie and the foundation of women congregations
At the symposium held at Tangaza University in Nairobi on 20 September 2025 to celebrate the bicentenary of Cardinal Lavigerie, Sr Hélène Mbuyamba, MSOLA, gave a presentation highlighting the cardinal’s role in the creation of women’s congregations Here is an abstract from the conference of Sr Hélène Mbuyamba, MSOLA At a time when the role of women was limited to domestic and family tasks, Cardinal Lavigerie made clear that for him the apostolate of women was an indispensable complement to the apostolate of men. As a man of faith, broad-minded and endowed with extraordinary vision and foresight, he understood the importance of women’s apostolate among women and recognized their vital role in transforming society. Even women who rarely left their homes were still at the heart of their households and it is in the home that women shape the society of tomorrow. Sisters could reach them and help…
The legacy of Cardinal Lavigerie
In this video we have a thoughtful presentation of the vision and work of Cardinal Lavigerie, by the Missionaries of Africa, the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa and members of the Lavigerie family
Hold on to Cardinal Lavigerie legacy
Celebration in Malindi Report by Sr Redempta Kabahweza, from Malindi, Kenya For the bicentenary of the birth of our dear Founder Cardinal Charles Lavigerie many events were programmed in our communities and I am grateful to God for having given me opportunity to attend a number of them. In November 2024, we had the launching of bicentenary here in Malindi diocese at our brothers, the Missionaries of Africa’s Parish in Tarasaa. As we did not have a chance to travel to Nairobi for the same function, we were happy as a community to have the launching of the bicentenary here in Malindi. In December 2024 I was invited by our brothers to give sessions to the parish youth on Child Protection (including risk of sexual abuse, early marriages and early pregnancies). The youth were happy with the sessions though some of them were emotionally down as they were reminded…
Burundi celebrates Cardinal Lavigerie
A testimony from Burundi highlights the enduring charism of Cardinal Charles Lavigerie, showing how his spirit continues to grow and inspire generation after generation. In this first video the celebratory Mass for the closing ceremony of a year of events that have brought together all the faithfuls in Burundi. Here is the text of the prayer in the video In this second video an hymn to Cardinal Lavigerie engagement in Africa sung by the pré-postulants of the Gitega community.
Let us move forward, family of Lavigerie
For Lavigerie’s bicentenary, celebrate his legacy of faith and commitment to the African peoples by drawing inspiration from his missionary zeal, courage and faith, and focusing on his legacy of human dignity. The theme for the bicentenary year was For a passionate and renewed commitment to the African peoples’
In memory of Cardinal Lavigerie
On the 26 of November 1892, Cardinal Lavigerie dies in Algers. In 1964 his body was translated in his final resting place, the Generalate House of the Missionaries of Africa in Rome In the evening of life when, after long years of work and suffering, your tired hands will hand on to others the tools of your work… you will thank God for having used your weakness to carry out His plan. (Thoughts of Cardinal Lavigerie, 451, 26) Death would only be frightening if it was not followed by the resurrection. Our Lord manifested His power much more after His Resurrection than before His death and not only did He not avoid death, but He sought and desired it, because He knew that it was according to His Father’s plan. (Thoughts of Cardinal Lavigerie, 454, 203)
Discover the Lavigerie app – your spiritual companion
Discover the Lavigerie app – your spiritual companion for prayer, reflection and mission. Inspired by Cardinal Lavigerie, it offers his writings, letters, meditations, faith resources and daily inspiration to live out your mission wherever you are. The application is available for free download on all Android and Apple devices through the Google Play Store and the Apple App Store.
Bicentenary of Cardinal Lavigerie: Symposium at Tangaza University Honors His Missionary Legacy
Sr. Xaverine Mukasinga shares with us her participation of the event On the occasion of the bicentenary of the birth of Cardinal Charles Lavigerie, a symposium was held on 20 September 2025 at Tangaza University in Nairobi. This event allowed us to pay tribute to the spiritual, human and missionary legacy of our founder. The day began with a Mass presided over by Archbishop Hubertus van Megen, Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya, who hailed Lavigerie as ‘one of the fruits of the Church’s rebirth after the French Revolution.’ In his homily, he recalled the power of the Cardinal’s witness. The symposium was organised jointly by the Missionaries of Africa, the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa and the members of the association “Lavigerie Lay Movement of Nairobi”, which lives out the founder’s charism in daily life. Cardinal Lavigerie’s commitment to the abolition of slavery was also…
Cardinal Lavigerie and Pope Francis, good shepherds of Christ
Shared by Sr. Nathalie Sedogo, Deli, Chad Men of Prayer Pope Francis and Cardinal Lavigerie both had a faith rooted in prayer. Christ was the center and reference point of their lives. According to those close to him, Pope Francis began his day with a long prayer. For him, “the key that opens faith is prayer” (statement to Vatican Radio, 7/10/2013). Cardinal Lavigerie was also a man of prayer and faith. “Among the obligations of apostolic life, it is important to place prayer above all else.” He insisted: “Just as the body would perish if deprived of air, so souls would wither and march toward death if they had not been refreshed and nourished by prayer.” Very human and good shepherds of Christ Pope Francis invites priests to be pastors “permeated with the scent of their sheep,” that is, to reach out to people in their…