Celebrate the Pentecost
What is Pentecost? Pentecost 2026 falls on Sunday, May 24. In the Catholic Church, Pentecost is one of the great solemnities of the liturgical year and marks the close of the Easter season. The word Pentecost comes from the Greek pentekostē, meaning “fiftieth day” as it is celebrated 50 days after Easter. It’s often called the “Birthday of the Church” because it marks the start of the Church’s mission, commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and the Virgin Mary fifty days after the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Pentecost is important because it reveals the Holy Spirit’s mission in the life of the Church. Jesus did not leave his disciples to carry out the gospel by their own strength. He sent the Holy Spirit to guide, sanctify, strengthen, and unite them. The first Pentecost The event is described in Acts 2. The Apostles, along with Mary…
My mission goes on…
Top row from left: Francine Maas, Martha Grageda, Marie Heintz and Lucille Pilotte Bottom row from left: Regina Ramos, Mary Rita Kelley and Felicia Nowak ONCE A MISSIONARY ALWAYS A MISSIONARY By Sr. Francine Maas in Winoosky community, Vermont-USA After 43 happy years of ministering in Tanzania and at our General Headquarters in Rome, I returned definitively to my home country, the USA, in September 2021. After settling-in, I was soon busy with helping my sisters in whatever their needs were. At that time, we were a community of 10 sisters, living in a small care home with about 35 elderly residents, but today we MSOLA number only 7. As 4 ½ years have now passed, the details of my ministry have changed but the main areas remained the same. It is my hope that in this short article I can show you…
Refugees’ wellbeing at the heart of our mission
From the Ukusijoni Community, in Uganda The state of refugee life is in fact a life of poverty. For some it becomes misery, seeing how they forcibly left their own land to establish themselves in a very limited space in another country. Some manage to come out of it, but the majority remain in a dire situation. This is the case of so many in Maaji and Agojo refugee settlements in Adjumani district, Northern Uganda. Our mission in Maaji and Agojo settlements, seeks to respond to the concrete realities of the refugees with their various needs. It is a pastoral apostolate that includes humanitarian responses where possible. Refugees need God in the first place, in whom they find their answers, and those they discover as God’s messengers become part of their lives. Our service to them seems to have come at the right time, when amid the…
Pope Leo XIV at Notre-Dame d’Afrique
From Sr Bernadette Djekoye on mission in Algeria “But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (luke 1:43) These words of Elizabeth, expressing both humility and deep joy, resonate with what I experienced when Pope Leo XIV was welcomed to Algeria. It is with great joy that I share with you my experience of this visit to Notre-Dame d’Afrique on 13 April 2026. For several months, preparations had been intensifying, both within the Church and on the part of the Algerian government, whose commitment was admirable. Everything was organised very well. On the morning of 13 April, from a large stadium, extensive transport arrangements and an impressive security operation were put in place to take us to the basilica, situated on the heights of Algiers. This place is highly symbolic: it is both a place of prayer for Christians and…
Celebrating in the periphery in Rwanda
From our Sr. Marie Kanyoni, in the community of Butare, in Rwanda Our community wanted to conclude the bicentennial of Cardinal Lavigerie with the sister congregations, the Benebikira and the Abizeramaria from our parish; and also with our close neighbors from the cathedral as well as our collaborators, the former students of MSOLA. Then, one of us had the idea of inviting the poor from the peripherie with whom we work in our apostolates, that is, the four groups from three different villages and the Notre Dame d’Afrique Center (sewing center for young women). With this gesture, we find ourselves fully in line with the apostolic exhortation of Pope Leo XIV: From the beginning, Scripture manifests with such intensity God’s love through the protection of the weak and the less fortunate, that one could speak of a kind of ‘soft spot’ of God towards them. The poor have…
A Crossroads of Reunions in La Marsa, Tunisia
During the last months of the year, our small Christian community in La Marsa, Tunisia, experienced many moments of visits, encounters, and joyful reunions, enriching the life of the parish and the religious communities present in the country. Closing of the Bicentenary of Cardinal Lavigerie at La Marsa Parish On October 31, on the occasion of the closing of the Bicentenary of Cardinal Lavigerie, our parish in La Marsa welcomed the communities of the Missionaries of Africa and the entire Lavigerie family. The Mass, presided over by Bishop Nicolas Lhernould, was at once simple, beautiful, and deeply prayerful. It was followed by a time of fellowship with the consecrated members and friends who accompanied us, with a special guest: Pauline Lecointe, the great-great cousin of Cardinal Lavigerie. A Fraternal Day of the COSMADT in Monastir In November, a beautiful day of fraternity and sharing brought…
Life of the mission in Ouarzazate, Morocco
Since our arrival in Ouarzazate, Morocco, we welcomed several groups of pilgrims, mainly from Poland and Italy. They wished to make a stop on their journey in order to celebrate the Eucharist in our Church of Saint Thérèse. We have also begun to build relationships with some guides who regularly accompany these pilgrimage groups. This time, we had the joy of meeting again Mrs. Agnieszka, a simple woman with great depth in her sharing. She is also passionate about Tanzania, where she spent some time, and she enjoys recalling a bit of her Kiswahili whenever she comes here. We also received visits from several people who came to spend a moment in prayer in the church and eventually shared their life experiences with us. We were particularly moved by the testimony of a French man who had spent a long period in a coma. He awoke after seeing…
A life consecreted, a faith shared
From Sister Jacqueline, from Bruxelles, Belgium A group of my grandniece’s friends asked me if I would agree to meet with the children who were preparing for their confirmation. I agreed, saying that I no longer knew today’s children and that I had lived a very different youth. On the day of the meeting, I began by asking the children questions to get a sense of their experience of faith, such as: You had your first communion, what did you like about it? Have you taken communion since then? Do you like taking communion? Why? Are you happy to be making your profession of faith? I quickly realized that I was way off the mark: these children do not live in a Catholic environment! On the other hand, they were interested in religious life, especially life in Africa. How I lived, in what conditions, whether I enjoyed…
Feast of Christ the King : a celebration of faith and commitment
As every year, Saint Joseph Parish in Nouakchott joyfully and prayerfully celebrated the Feast of Christ the King, a major event in the life of the Christian community. This solemn celebration, which marks the end of the liturgical year, reminds all the faithful that Christ is at the center of our lives and our mission. It also invites the community to look toward the future with confidence, placing our journey under the reign of love, peace, and justice of the Lord. On the occasion of the Feast of Christ the King, each association, movement, national community, and prayer group of the parish was represented by two members. These representatives were called to make a formal commitment on behalf of their groups to the service of the Church and Saint Joseph Parish. This symbolic yet deeply meaningful gesture expressed the desire of every group to actively contribute to parish life.…
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…