Perpetual vows of Iwona Cholewińska
« All that I have and call my own You have given it all to me. To you, Lord, I return it. Everything is yours » St Ignatius of Loyola Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa together with the Cholewinscy family joyfully invite you to the perpetual vows of Iwona Cholewińska which she will pronounce solemnly on Sunday 8 September 2024 during the Eucharist at 12.00 noon in the parish church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in Boby, Poland
The SMNDA and the emerging Congregation of the Sœurs de l’Immaculée Conception de Ouagadougou (SICO)
Sr. Delphine with two postulants of the SICO Excerpts from the diaries from 1924 to 1934 The opening of the postulate February 11, 1924, Our Lady of Lourdes. The Novitiate of the indigenous Sisters having been completed, Monsignor chose this feast of the Blessed Virgin to install there our six postulants. He blessed the robes in our little oratory, then celebrated holy mass, after which our happy girls were taken to their new home. (Diary 1924, p.51). The first vows On December 8, 1930, they told us about the joy in Ouagadougou: Big day of celebration for Ouagadougou. The 5:30 a.m. Mass, Monsignor received the wishes of the first Black Sisters of the Immaculate Conception. The lucky ones were seven in number. The Church was full, and everyone listened attentively to the monition that Monsignor addressed to the future professed women. At the end of the mass, each…
“God will do it again”
Srs. Maite, Marie Ange and Victoire with some students Sr. Marie Ange, in Nouakchott, Mauritania, has gone back to Burundi for a holiday with the family. While in Gitega she joined Srs. Maite and Victoire, who are there on mission, for some missionary vocation animation (MVA) in schools. Here is the report of her activities. During my leave in February 2024 I joined my sisters in Gitega to do MVA activities in the secondary schools. Sometimes we had about 1000 pupils in a large hall, girls and boys of all religions together and we always started with a song “God will do it again”, composed by Tchouva, that says “God will work miracles, he heals the sick, he raises the dead, he is powerful to save, he does not change … he sustains all things by his Powerful Word, more effective than a two-edged sword. Lord, say only…
The vocation group at the parish of Nouakchott
From our sister Mia Dombrecht, in Nouakchott, Mauritania This pastoral year, the parish vocational group chose “Burning Hearts, Walking Feet” as the theme for Mission Sunday in October 2023. At the start of the pastoral year, we met to listen to the young people’s interests and the topics they would like to cover throughout the year. A meditation on the call of young Samuel opened the year. In November, we organized a recollection by the sea to share on the year’s theme and on the Gospel of the Emmaus pilgrims. We tackled the subject of the missionary vocation. A diocesan priest and sisters from three missionary congregations were present to mentor around ten young people. In December, through sketches linked to the mystery of the Incarnation, the young people presented different texts from the Gospel. At the end, each one of them shared in a very moving way…
A Journey for Searching
Sister Eunice Kyohairwe, in Lilongwe, Malawi, shares her experience of a Vocation Sunday In Lilongwe Diocese, Vocation Sunday was celebrated in Mlale, one of the Parishes in the diocese. This place is a bit on the periphery in terms of transportation but the youth managed to reach there in search of their vocation. I felt encouraged by their openness in asking me different questions such as: dressing, apostolate, levels of education for entry into our congregation, etc. At the end, they expressed their appreciation for being enlightened. They also shared their fear of approaching religious sisters because we don’t have time for them. From this interaction I discovered that the youth are still interested in religious life if we are available for them. I can say that our simple life style and readiness to adapt to their culture in our way of dressing is what is attracting many.…
Sharing About Vocation Sunday
Greetings from South B community. May the Risen Lord Jesus Christ who is our Good Shepherd be with you. We would like to share with you our experiences of Vocation Sunday with the vocation group at South B parish (Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish). As we have been journeying together with the vocation group, we have seen how thirsty they really are to discover their vocations and their willingness to commit themselves. Therefore, we prepared the feast of the Good Shepherd together with them. We decided to ask the Vocations chaplain to allow us to animate one of the Masses. We were given the one of 11:30 am. We animated the Mass with dances from the beginning until the end (Entrance song, Gloria, Offertory, Thanksgiving). After the Mass we continued with our meeting. We MSOLA were invited to talk about vocations in general (religious, marriage, and single…
Mission Saturdays – doors open ever wider….
From our Sister Iwona Cholewinska, in Lublin, Poland The monthly missionary meetings at our house in Lublin’s Sławinek have a long history of over twenty years. Initially, they were intended only for girls interested in the missions in Africa or who were discerning their vocation. Each meeting began with singing in African languages and a brief introduction of each participant. This was followed by an introduction to Ignatian prayer, a meditation and a sharing of the fruits of our prayer. After a short break, there was a testimony by a missionary, mostly Sisters and Fathers of the Missionaries of Africa, but also lay missionaries with missionary experience in Africa, followed by Holy Mass in an African setting and a shared meal of sandwiches and tea (which had a unique taste!). I attended these meetings as a student and as a candidate and I remember them as a time…
God’s dream became mine
Sr. Flora Ridder shares the Final Commitment of Sr. Magdalena Orczykowska on Sunday 21st April 2024 in the parish of St. Anthony the Abbot, Mẹcina, Poland On Friday afternoon the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa set off from Lublin to Mẹcina, the home village of Sr. Magdalena. There she prepared to make her perpetual vows on Sunday. The two entity leaders of Euro-America Sisters Marceline Nemeyitora and Maite Sanz de Pablo, Sr. Mamaalifar from Rome and Sr. Flora from Germany joined the sisters of Lublin for the celebration. In the village we were heartily welcomed by the parents and the sister of Sr. Magdalena. The uncle had put his house, next to the parents’ house, at the disposition of the sisters who, sharing rooms, all found accommodation. The meals were shared in the parents’ house. They were times of sharing, getting to know one another…
Good Shepherd Sunday in Arusha
The parish priest lit the candle of each child who then made a promise Our Arusha Community celebrates Vocation Day in the St. Simon the Apostle Parish, in Arusha, Tanzania “I am the good Shepherd, I know my own and my own knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for them Jn 10, 11-18” It was a tremendous and beautiful morning of Good Shepherd Sunday for our community and the Vocation Club ‘Chama cha miito’ which was begun by our postulants in previous years. We had been preparing how we could make the day colorful since it is Vocation Day. So we and the vocation club shortlisted our suggestions such as having a thanksgiving Mass, a meal together, entertainment, a fashion show, and having all the members of the club make a promise during Mass. At the beginning of the Mass, we…
The Final Committment of Magda Orczykowska
Here is the video of the Final Vows of our sister Magda Orczykowska Here is a link to watch it on YOUTUBE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2BsIVxgDqQ