Season of Creation 2025
Season of Creation is a time (September 1 – October 4) for Christians to come together in prayer and action for Creation. The theme for Season of Creation this year is Peace with Creation Our Biblical text for this year is Isaiah 32:14-18. The prophet Isaiah pictured the desolated Creation without peace because of the lack of justice and the broken relationship between God and humankind. This description of devastated cities and wastelands eloquently stresses the fact that human destructive behaviours have a negative impact on the Earth. Our hope: Creation will find peace when justice is restored. There is still hope and the expectation for a peaceful Earth. To hope in a biblical context does not mean to stand still and quiet, but to act, pray, change, and reconcile with Creation and the Creator in unity, metanoia (repentance), and solidarity. The Symbol for 2025 is the Garden of…
“Sister, Can I Have My Tree?”: Planting Hope in Northern Uganda
By Sr. Magdalena Orczykowska – Ukusijoni, Uganda In the sun bathed lands of Northern Uganda, the changing climate is no longer just a distant topic—it’s a daily reality. Dry seasons have become longer and hotter, trees are disappearing due to charcoal burning and construction needs, and the air grows dustier by the day. In this challenging context, a seed of hope was planted – both literally and figuratively. The idea was born during an online training for JPIC (Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation) animators, organized by the JPIC Commission of UISG and USG. Inspired and energized by the session, we felt called to act – starting with something small, yet deeply meaningful: trees. As a team of missionaries, we organized an awareness sessions and tree distribution campaign in the refugee settlements of Maaji and Agojo. Our goal was simple—to educate about the importance of trees and provide…
The Hidden Legacy of Missionary Sisters in Natural Sciences
Sr Gisela Schreyer presents the Scientific Approach of Missionary Sisters: A Forgotten Treasure When Mission Met Scientific Observation Cardinal Charles Lavigerie strongly encouraged his missionaries — Fathers, Brothers, and Sisters — to engage deeply with the countries they were sent to: learning the language, understanding the culture, and documenting anything of interest, including scientific observations. Although the Sisters, unlike the Fathers, did not receive specialized training, some took a great interest in these fields and began to document what they learned from local communities. A Precious Discovery in the Archives Among these documents are preserved collections of medicinal plants and natural dyes, used notably in the crafting of traditional carpets. These rare materials were rediscovered by historian Mme Catherine Marin, who authored a book on Mother Marie Salomé, during one of her visits to Rome. She invited me to present these treasures during a Missionary Documentation Day in…
When Patience Takes Root
When Patience Takes Root: A Community Journey Through a Sunflower As we grow older, patience is often put to the test: receiving care, waiting for the elevator, living in close community… One day, Sr. Monique Bonami, from our Saint-Joseph community, shared her struggle with impatience—her own and that of others. Together, we decided to reflect on this theme as a community. 🌱 Sowing to Learn At our first meeting, each Sister received a sunflower seed to plant, a Bible verse on patience to meditate on daily, and an envelope with reflection questions to open ten days later. The goal? To observe our own patience during the germination process and compare it to the patience we need in daily life with one another. 🌻 From Seed to Awareness At our second gathering, we shared our experiences. Most described a confident, joyful waiting. Two Sisters felt some anxiety: “Why…
Seeds of Change: Faith, Youth, and Ecology in Nouakchott
The community in Nouakchott shares the dream of a beautiful world Since last year, we have been involved in ecological training in various parish groups. This year, the question arose: Why not find a place to discuss this topic with Mauritanian youth and children? The idea came to us to make this proposal to a school with which we already collaborate through the scholarships offered to certain children, the Pythagore School. At the same time, the proposal also came from them, and they shared with us their dream of organizing nature outings for their students. How could we not see the finger of God in this? Since then, Sr. Mia has given three ecology-related activities to the elementary and middle school students. The focus was on climate change, human responsibility, and the call for behavioral change. For example, putting garbage in the trash can and not next to…
We are initiators
By Sr. Georgette Ouedraogo, Lilongwe community, Malawi Our founder Cardinal Charles Lavigerie and Mother Marie Salome as well as our sisters who preceded us in the mission, taught us to be initiators. Our history reveals how we have been initiators in the mission. So many schools, hospitals, parishes and centres have been initiated and passed on to others. Even though we are not initiating many institutions nowadays, let us not lose the focus, we still are initiators in various ways. When thinking about environmental care, we are called to reinforce our role as initiator. Have we ever witnessed rubbish (water bottles, takeaway containers, tissues, cobs of roasted maize, banana peels) flying out of posh cars, buses on the highway? Are these people not educated? Some of them are very highly educated, but they have not been initiated. No one has ever supported them with the awareness of disposing…
Enjoying little things: a trip to Antwerp Zoo
Written in July 2024 by Ludovica Hofmans and Reninca Van Elzen Summer was slow in coming to Belgium and rather temperamental … We did decide on a date for a visit to Antwerp Zoo, and on that day, 19 July 2024, the weather was very fine, even a little too hot (30°C). But, equipped with hats and bottles of water, we went ahead with our trip to the zoo. We (Anna Hendrickx and ourselves) were lucky enough to be accompanied by Claire, our coordinator, and Sr Marcelline and Sr Maïté, our leaders, who were visiting Belgium! Pauline, a friend of Sr Mia Van Looy, was also on hand to help transport us as all three of us were in wheelchairs. We thank her again very much! I, Ludovica, really admired Pauline, Marcelline and Claire, who pushed us all the way. Thanks to them, I had a great…
Tree planting in Mauritania
On Saturday, October 26, we organized a planting of twenty trees in a neighborhood of Nouakchott called Basra. There were 19 of us, including, among others, 6 people from the Islamo-Christian Group including Sr. Mia and Sr. Elyse, three priests, the president of a Mauritanian association for Education and Culture, the president of the association Soleil des Enfants, the president of the association Ensemble Pour un Avenir Meilleur and his team. We went to get the trees from the gardener to bring them to the neighborhood of Basra where the action took place. The young people from the association had raised awareness among the families in the neighborhood about the benefits of trees and some of them asked for a tree. Each family had already dug a hole in front of their door and had prepared the manure and the fence to prevent the sheep from damaging the young…
Cleaning up the Indian Ocean – a gesture to our Mother Earth
“Laudato si’, mi’ Signore” – “Praised be you, my Lord”. In the words of this beautiful hymn, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds us that our Earth is like a sister with whom we share our life, and a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. “Praise be to you, my Lord, through our sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs us, and who produces various fruits with coloured flowers and herbs.” Caring for our Mother Earth should be our priority every day, because all our actions, good or bad, have an impact on Her. We are called to be responsible for what we do and to take care of our Mother Earth. I am happy to share with you the way we helped to clean the Indian Ocean because it was really a beautiful experience to do such a gesture. We in the Dar es…
“Thank you for everything”
From our Srs Franceline Hien and Valérie Sibdou Kaboré of Hydra-Parmentier “Thank you for everything” This word was spoken a few days ago by the little girl, barely 3 years old, of a work colleague. We were returning from a beautiful day spent in the mountains, in the middle of the forest. That evening, while reviewing my day, I was challenged about my capacity to live gratitude in depth. Am I able to say, at the end of each day: “Lord, Thank you for everything”? At the end of this month of September, I take the risk of saying “Thank you for everything” Spiritual retreat Thank you for the time of spiritual retreat lived at the monastery of Thibhirine with our brothers the Missionaries of Africa. Led by the brothers and sisters of the Chemin Neuf, it was an intense moment of personal and community prayer…