Sisters without a habit!
From sister Xaverine Mukatabaza, Malindi Community, Kenya I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them. (John 17:26) Sr. Edith and I were invited to Chonyi Parish in Mombasa Diocese. It was a great joy for us as MSOLA to participate in the session of WANA MARIA. These young girls had their retreat of five days and we were invited to give a session on Vocation. What a surprise to see sisters without habits! These young girls are used to seeing sisters with veils, so to see sisters without habits was a great surprise for them. They thought at first that we were members of the Catholic Women’s Association (CWA). One of the women accompanists of the group welcomed us with the following words: It is our…
Pilgrimage of Juniorate
Dear Sisters, We are happy to share with you some important events that marked our Juniorate Pilgrimage. We set off on the 11th of September accompanied by our sisters Julia Alonso Martinez and Jeanne d’Arc Ouattara. From the beginning we were asked to be open and flexible as the problems with visa reshuffled our plans. Marietha Asimwe arrived on 10 September and Yollande Kandongo was able to join us only on 5 October. However, the new technologies came to our help and allowed us to start the program together. On September 14, the four juniorists Iwona Cholewińska, Magdalena Orczykowska, Marietha Asimwe and Yollande Kandongo we began our juniorate pilgrimage. During the opening Eucharist celebrated by Father Stan Lubungo, Superior General of the Missionaries of Africa, and in the presence of the sisters of the large community of the Generalate, the Superior General, Sister Angela Kapitingana, officially welcomed the juniorists for…
Official entry into the novitiate
From October 13 to 16, the pre-novices (from left) Mbaihamdéné Valérie, Cyarisima Divine, Kwatemba Kuyonzo Wilkista Agripina, Jovanie Nitunga, and Nodjitelsemba Solange went to Mater Christi for their retreat in preparation for the official start of the novitiate, which is a very important stage in religious training. They were accompanied by Sister Furaha Kamanyula who led their retreat. They arrived all happy and the community was happy to welcome them. October 18 was the day of the official return to the novitiate and the entry into heaven of Mother Marie Salomé; I was touched by the organization of the community which made a beautiful feast. Each of us gave the best of ourselves in the preparations. Our brothers the Missionaries of Africa came with their novices to pray with us. The Eucharistic celebration was celebrated by Fr. Emmanuel, M.Afr. In his homily, he told us that he did not…
Experience of the world: the World Youth Day at Lisbon
A report from Sr. Lucy Nabweteme, Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa in Lublin, Poland On the 24th of July we left Lublin, Poland for Portugal for the World Youth Day. We were 20 participants, with Fr. Mateusz Wójcik who was responsible for the group. We all set off for the pilgrimage with our personal desires or mission. Sr. Victoria Gaa and I were sent by our Congregation specifically to do Missionary Vocation Animation. I also had my personal desire which was to love the people I will meet and to go to Fatima. On the 26th we arrived at Marco de Canaveses, in Porto diocese, where we spent four days. We were all touched by the love, care and generosity of the families that welcomed us. We were also very grateful for all the organisation that had been done at the parish to enable us to have…
Youth, be a witness to the hope of Christ
Sister Joselyne Nisingizwe of our Tchad community, accompanied the young people of the vocation group to the Diocesan Vocation Camp in Doguindi. Here is what she shares with us about this experience. This year we had 116 young people! The theme of this camp was: ‘Youth, be witnesses of Christ’s hope in today’s world’. I thank God for this experience with young people. After noticing the evil that invades the world, we saw together how we can live in hope. By referring to the Holy Scriptures, we have seen some characters who are models of hope. Abraham is an example. The book of Genesis retraces the significant events in the life of Abraham before the sacrifice of his son. In the New Testament, the story of the widowed woman who had only one son (Lk 7:11-12), shows us that even if evil exists in the world, it does not…
Everything becomes possible for hearts that seek God
Our sister Ferroudja celebrated her final vows in the Basilica of Our Lady of Africa in Alger on June 24. She is from Kabyle, the cradle of our congregation. Another mass was celebrated in Thanksgiving of the 1st of July in Farroudja parish. Many sisters and friends came to participate in the celebrations. Here we have the witness of some moments of grace, by Jeanne D’Arc Ouattara. “The Lord is faithful in all He does” (Ps 32:4) These words of the Psalmist are of a reality that we can taste in the days that preceded and follow Ferroudja’s vows. Words that are fulfilled for us in Algeria, for the Church and the world, in simple yet profound gestures that make God present in our midst, in hearts open to his love and faithfulness. What a wonderful surprise! Ferroudja’s younger brother, seeing his worried sister looking for a candle, presented…
A way of announcing the Good News in everyday life…
When we received the invitation to write an article about MVA, we were perplexed. How can we, who are confined within four walls in our Rome community, be asked to do this? For sure, we do not do mission animation. And yet, like all baptized and consecrated persons, are we not also missionaries, called to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ? Paul VI, in Evangelii nuntiandi, wrote: “The Gospel must be proclaimed first of all by witness. Here is a Christian or a group of Christians who, within the human community in which they live, show their capacity for understanding and acceptance, their communion of life and destiny with others, their solidarity in the efforts of all for all that is noble and good. They also radiate, in a simple and spontaneous way, their faith in values that are beyond the ordinary, and their hope in something that we…
Final vows of our Sr. Aurélie Dushime in Burundi
A number of people gathered in Kayove parish, Rutana diocese in Burundi to share the joy of celebrating the final Vows of Sr. Aurélie, on 15th of April 2023. Ernestine Mukamana & Veronicah Khakasa, pre-postulants in the Community of Butare, share their impression of the celebration. It was a memorable celebration for the Christians of Rutana. The parish team and the parishioners participated actively in the preparation of the event. They were engaged in the decorations, preparing the meal, serving people, animating the mass just to mention a few. It was touching to see the commitment of the people of Kayove parish in this celebration. The Bishop Bonaventure Nahimana of Gitega celebrated mass and there were a good number of priests including diocesan and others from various religious congregation. There were also different religious who came to support our sister and to share the Joy with MSOLA and…
Our Vocation Club is spreading the Good News
Based on the experience I have lived with the Vocation Club, which is a group of young children aging from 7-15 years, I have discovered and I confirm that they are the best voice to evangelize the world. A concrete example is their acting the passion of Christ on Good Friday. The presentation was so touching to the extent that some of the Christians, especially the mothers and children, after seeing the main character Jesus being stripped, mocked and crucified, began to cry. They are talented kids. It was the first time for them to act the passion of Christ since the existence of Loruvani parish. And it did not even take me and my collaborator William a long time to prepare them. I personally was very touched when parents of the children and other Christians came to me asking how I had managed to prepare them in a short…
Openness to other forms of belonging to the congregation
A little sharing about the emerging group: The Lavigerie group is a newly born group in Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso) made up of lay associates (wishing to share our charism) at the invitation of the General Council to open our doors to different groups who wish to share our charism and spirituality. It is a group animated by the spirit of love and mutual aid. The members easily take initiatives. They are together in both joyful and sorrowful moments. For example, when a death occurs, there is communication and then the delegation goes to present condolences to the family. We have already celebrated happy events such as Valentine’s wedding and the final vows of Sr. Beatrice Badini. During the preparations for the vows of Sr. Béatrice, they helped us a lot and a group was even formed to give a hand with the needed services. On the day of the…