The YES of Jesus, the YES of Lavigerie… my YES
Sr. Maite Oiartzun Nshimirimana, missionary of Our Lady of Africa sent to Burundi, shares the joy of her Jubilee of 25 years of missionary life In this year of grace and blessing, when we are celebrating in the Church the Jubilee of 2025 years since the birth of Jesus, 200 years since the birth of our Founder Lavigerie, and we are also celebrating my Jubilee of 25 years of missionary life, for me it is essential to root myself and put my trust in the YES of Jesus, the YES of Mary, the YES of Lavigerie and of our MSOLA sisters, and the YES of my parents, and from generation to generation all these yeses have given me a lot of courage. I felt the strength of the Holy Spirit to continue to commit myself with Faith and renew my YES to Christ forever, and all this…
The transformation of yesterday and today
In time of transformation we look to our history to inspire us and motivate us. Here we share the story of M. Maria Mechtildis, our Superior General from 1959 to 1969, who steered our congregation through the transformations following the independence of many African states and the Second Vatican Council. Born Hildegard Balmerth on 15th February 1916 in Erbach (Germany) she grew in war and hardship in a family of great faith and courage. At the age of eighteen, in 1934, she entered the postulate in Trier. She was active and very energetic, ready to take on anything in order to be of service. On 1st May 1935 she received the white habit of the Congregation in the novitiate of Trier with the name Sr. Maria Mechtildis. The novice mistress, M. Madeleine de la Croix passed on her own love for the mission, with the apostolic spirit she had…
Through the Holy Door of St Peter’s
On Saturday 22 February, the Missionaries of Africa and the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa joined forces for a pilgrimage of Hope through the Holy Door of St Peter’s to celebrate the Jubilee 2025. The group first celebrated Mass in one of the chapels of St Peter’s Basilica, a very prayerful Mass well prepared by our brothers. All the Provincials of the M.Afr. were there, as well as most of the Fathers of Via Aurelia, so it was an opportunity for some wonderful encounters and reunions. After Mass, the group made the pilgrimage route. Many of our brothers were wearing gandouras, which didn’t go unnoticed! The most important thing was to have made the journey together as brothers and sisters!
The mission of being a student
From our Sister Eliane NZOYISABA, Bunamwaya, Uganda “Be all things to all people.” Inspired by this aspect of our spirituality, I want to share my experience of living the mission through studies and how it influenced the relationships with my classmates. Since February 2024, I am working toward a Certificate in Fashion Design at the Uganda Catholic Management and Training Institute in Rubaga, Uganda. Our class initially comprised twelve students, but unfortunately, two had to leave due to financial constraints. My classmates are young, unmarried girls, while other classes include a mix of boys, men, young women, and married ladies. The institute also welcomes religious sisters, easily recognized by their distinctive uniforms. As MSOLA, I live the “all to all” in my way of being and collaboration with the others in our studies. Our Constitutions (n.13) remind us that: “Wherever we are, our mission is ONE. Because we…
Make the God of Love visible
Sr Hildegard Krümpelmann, Sr Elisabeth Herkommer, Sr Hildegard Essman and Sr Bertha Maas On the occasion of the Jubilee of the Families on 30th May 2025, we want to celebrate our family with an article from our sisters in Germany, in the community at the Trier Seniorenzentrum “Do as God does – become human” “Do as God does – become human.” These words by Bishop Klaus Hemmerle (+1994) are an inspiration for us every day. They call us to follow the example of God, who became a human being in Jesus Christ to show us his love. This message shapes our lives as elderly sisters in the senior center and gives us strength and orientation. Our community in the light of the mission As a community of elderly sisters, we are living in a phase of our mission where our physical strength may be waning, but…
Experience of being Mission
Sr. Sylviane Rouamba, Dar es salaam community, Tanzania St. Charles Lwanga Parish and its pastoral team offer different activities to the people; among others those of the Salome Learning Centre. As our founder Cardinal Charles Lavigerie used to say: Be apostles, be nothing but apostles or, at least be nothing else except with this in view’’. This was his deepest wish for his missionaries. Dear brothers and sisters, it is with joy that I am sharing about two points: Being an apostle, being mission, and also, my mission in Dar es Salaam. Who is an apostle? An apostle is someone who is on pilgrimage or someone who is on a journey looking for holiness, a journey looking for God through people, a journey of imitating Christ and doing his mission. What is the meaning of mission? A mission is a service or a call we have…
It’s all in the gaze – Reflection for Lent
Shared by Gabrielle Lepage, Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa with a video of the song “L’Essentiel” and a video of the hymn “N’ai pas peur” with photos of sisters from yesteryears Is there anything in life more important than human relationships? I don’t think so! Everything else matters. And it’s fair to say that the way we look at each other plays a major role in our human relationships. The different facets of the gaze The way we look reveals our most hidden thoughts and feelings. It has been said that the main organ of vision is thought: we see with our ideas. We don’t always realise that our interpersonal relationships change according to the messages communicated by the way we look at each other. Glances that can be admiring, benevolent, approving, etc., but that can also be suspicious, accusatory or incredulous. I am in…
I am an instrument in the hands of God
Sr. Celina Natanek shares her faith with us Jesus came into the world so that we might have life and have it in abundance (cf. Jn 10:10). These words are my missionary programme, but also our religious programme. For we serve so that those to whom we are sent may have life and have it in abundance. Before joining the congregation, I led a life similar to many other young people: studies, household chores, discos, working abroad. However, there were still questions in my heart: Who is God? What is the meaning of life? What is heaven? Even as a child I felt God’s presence, especially in nature, in the silence of the church and during adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. In my imaginings, God was powerful but also austere, which did not always match the experience of His nearness. My grandfather taught me to see beauty…
Three dimensions of Spirituality
From Sr. Iwona Cholewinska, La Marsa, Tunisia A deep conviction that has accompanied me since my novitiate is that we, the MSOLA, have a spirituality of our own. I would like to look at it in its three dimensions: interior, horizontal and vertical, by joining the definition of Delia Mamon. For her, spirituality is “the connection to one’s inner being, to others, to the whole, including to that which surpasses us.” Our MSOLA spirituality is first of all the spirituality of the personal relationship with the Lord. It is nourished by Ignatian Spirituality which leads us with its many means to the deepening of this relationship and leads us to a true experience of Life. Our MSOLA Spirituality is enriched by certain aspects of African Spirituality which recognize the sacred character of life and a deep connection with its source. The Ubuntu philosophy and its adage “I am…
The hidden depths of the Lord’ Prayer
Sister Gaby Lepage hels us to discover the hidden depths of the Lord’ Prayer In 1982, I was in Malawi, Africa, as a missionary. One day, we welcomed a Jewish family into our community, the father, the mother and a little boy. I loved watching this child, who, in his father’s arms, spent his time repeating ABBA, ABBA, with gentleness and tenderness. This scene reminded me of Jesus calling his father ABBA, papa, beloved father, the intimate secret of Jesus’ relationship with God his father and of his mission in God’s name. To his apostles, who had asked him one day: ‘Teach us to pray’, he had told them: ‘When you pray, say OUR FATHER who art in heaven…Luke 11, 1-4, Mt 6, 9-13 In the first three prayers of the Our Father, man is concerned about the cause of God; in the next four, it is…