22 African Religious Congregations
The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, participated in the founding and formation of 22 African religious congregations. The story of a great adventure ! Historical background: Feminine religious life is not new in Africa. We think for example, of the nuns of the Coptic Church. In the nineteenth century, young women entered the recently established international missionary Institutes (West Africa, Sudan). The novelty in the early twentieth century was the birth of truly indigenous active congregations. That happened as “missions” were established in the new evangelized territories. Religious life in Africa: The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, under the leadership of their founder, Cardinal Charles Lavigerie, collaborated in the formation of 22 new congregations. The first was born in Sumbawanga (now in Tanzania) in 1903. Other foundations followed throughout the twentieth century in: Uganda, Rwanda, Congo,…