In memory of Cardinal Lavigerie
November 26, anniversary of the death of Cardinal Charles Lavigerie (1825-1892), Archbishop of Algiers and Carthage, Primate of Africa, founder of the Society of Missionaries of Africa which includes priests and brothers (“White Fathers”), and the Congregation of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (“White Sisters”). On November 26, 1892, Cardinal Lavigerie died in his episcopal residence of Saint-Eugène, in Algiers. He was 67 years old. Around his deathbed were gathered the representatives of all his works in Africa: among others, Bishop Livinhac and Father Michel of Jerusalem, Father Delattre and Abbé Bombard representing Carthage and Tunis, Mother Salomé, Superior of the Missionaries Sisters of our Lady of Africa, Fr. Buffet, superior of the Jesuits of Algiers, in addition to his secretary and his doctor. This death, immediately known in France, then throughout the world, took on the proportions of a national and universal mourning. Pope Leo XIII,…
Word of Lavigerie : God is light for humanity
1 – God is light for humanity (1856-1857) Extract from a course given by Lavigerie at the Sorbonne during the academic year 1856-1857. “Doubtless, humility is the first and most essential of our virtues. We cannot by ourselves acquire any right to the celestial gifts, but we can nevertheless work with this help from God which never fails to render us less unworthy. If then there are among you some who do not believe yet feel the desire for a faith which you lack, rather than seeking to get hurt instead seek to place your soul in a higher and more serene region. God is light, and it is not in darkness that we must seek. The great men of the early days of the Church have shown us by their example a different path. They teach us that in order to prepare ourselves…
Word of an elder, word of Lavigerie…F. Richard Kuuia Baawobr
From Richard Kuuia Baawobr, M.Afr. Superior General (2010-2016) An African proverb says you can do without the cane of an elder, but you cannot ignore his word. In the book of Sirac the author advises his readers in similar terms when he says to them: “Do not depart from the tales of the elders, for they have learned them from their fathers. It is with them that you will learn to understand, and to have a ready answer when needed.” In the African tradition, the word of an elder, especially the father or mother of a family, always tells us the way of life, which is good for true fulfillment or what could possibly harm him temporarily or forever. That is why in the African tradition we pay attention to what the elders say. One learns the proverbs and one tries to put…
Saint Martin of Tours and Lavigerie’s dream
It was 150 years ago, on 11 November 1866 that the future founder of missionary institutes, Lavigerie, had a prophetic dream at the tomb of St Martin in Tours. Early in 1866, the archbishop of Tours, Mgr Guibert had asked the bishops of France to contribute to the reconstruction of the basilica dedicated to St. Martin. Mgr Lavigerie, then Bishop of Nancy, was not satisfied to simply answer the request with a few lines; he devoted a whole pastoral letter to the apostle of the Gauls. “I had begun,” he writes, “to study for myself the life of this admirable bishop, seeking therein some examples of intrepid faith, patience, charity, which my weakness needs. But as I studied this great figure in the ancient monuments of his history and ours, I felt the desire to place before your eyes the perfect image of…
Uganda: Our Sisters’ dreams come true
For here the Proverb holds true: “One sows, another reaps” (Jn. 4.17). How true this Scripture text is we could witness in Kisubi on the 1st of October when participating in the Centenary Celebrations of St. Theresa’s Girls’ School founded by our Sisters in the year 1915. This celebration came shortly after another celebration on the 27th August when we were invited to join the feast in Lubaga in honor of 60 years existence of St Michael Lubaga Hospital Training Schools established in 1956 with the support of our Sisters. The hospital was one of our first foundations in Uganda. Both institutions are two of our Sisters’ dreams come true. Our Sister’ dreams: The first dream was that many Ugandans might have access to good health care services, and today we can rejoice seeing so many young people well trained, nursing and caring for the sick and at the…
What did Lavigerie want when he founded the congregation in 1869?
Apostles! That is to say women having hearts burning with “a strong and ardent love” for JESUS CHRIST and belonging totally to Him. He destined these apostles for AFRICA. To proclaim the Good News of Christ to the African peoples: “Tell them that this Jesus, whose cross you show them, died on it to bring all the freedoms to the world, freedom of souls against the yoke of evil, freedom of conscience against the yoke of the persecutors, freedom of the body against the yoke of slavery.” (June 3, 1879) To achieve this goal and to prepare women-apostles dedicated to the apostolate among the women, religious life was for him the indispensable basis. Following Christ has always been the foundation of consecrated life. His understanding of religious life passed through several important phases: As a historian–professor of Church history at the Sorbonne–he was first impressed by the work…
Advance out into the deep
This morning in my prayer I heard : « advance out into the deep »…. I wanted to respond: “It’s unreasonable that you ask me this Lord, I’m 81 years old!” Weird …, as this sounds like distant history. It was in September 1869. Nearly 150 years ago! Eight young women from Brittany arrived in Algiers. They heard a call from Mgr. Lavigerie transmitted by Abbé Le Mauff: “bring me at least four postulants, young, brave, ready for everything and able to be the four cornerstones of their congregation. In their hearts they had heard “advance into the deep” … They left family; home, village, country, personal projects; to go to Africa. To love like Jesus, to love strangers, strangers who have become brothers, sisters, children, fathers, mothers. Loving Africans by working with them and for them. Following them, many young people, in all countries,…
“I have loved everything in our Africa.”
“I have loved everything in our Africa, her past, her future, her sunshine, her mountains, her skies, the vast horizons of her deserts, the deep blue waves that bathe her shores.” Charles Lavigerie “Love the peoples to whom you are sent” Charles Lavigerie
Our family treasure
Since the beginning, Cardinal Lavigerie wanted us to be sent in apostolic international communities. Interculturality is an integral part of our “family treasure”, of our heritage… a heritage to which we hold firmly. “Be of one heart and one soul. Be truly sisters one to the other. To love and help one another are the two pillars of community life. Take with a good spirit whatever your companions do or say.” Mother Marie-Salomé We are not sent alone. It is together that we participate in the mission of Christ. He himself, from the beginning of his public life, surrounded himself with a community of disciples. It was not an international community, but he liked gathering together persons who were very different: by temperament, place of origin, trade or profession, political opinions… Was it not a way of showing how, in Him, all the differences can be harmonised? Thus it…