With Christ, in Africa, forever
Sr. Iwona Cholewinska, in La Marsa, Tunisia, shares her joy at her final vows For my final commitment I chose the date of September 8, to be able to always associate it with the birth of Mary and the birth of our Congregation. In distributing the invitations for my vows, I had this conviction that the people who will be present will be guests of the One who invited me to follow Him as MSOLA in Africa, because it is He, in fact, the author of this day. From the first preparations, the desire that inhabited me was that it be a celebration as simple as possible and it was fulfilled! Many of the people present underlined in their sharing this simplicity that was manifested in the liturgy, in the symbols and in the gestures. The celebration took place in the church where I was baptized, I…
Sr. Marietha’s final profession
“Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these?” Yezakuzwe Marie, Mukamana Ernestine, Oligah Ainomugisha, MSOLA postulants, report from Arusha, Tanzania On the morning of 20th July, Sisters, family and parishioners arrived at St. John Mary Mzeeyi Maruku parish for the Mass. In a brief history of Sr. Marietha’s life, we learned that it was through the sacrament of the Eucharist that she had come to love Jesus Christ. In Tanzania, the religious habit is very significant and appreciated. The bishop explained why our dress is different from that of other congregations. We have chosen a habit that allows us to move around easily and to be close to the people. Later during a conversation, the choir director told us that he liked the way we mixed with the people. During his speech, Mr. Joakim Rupia, Marietha’s father, showed his gratitude to God for…
Silver jubilee of Sr. Marie Kanyoni
A very beautiful atmosphere of joy and solidarity marked this celebration. Everyone took the success of this party to heart as if it were their own family. Sr. Marie at the centre From Sr. Marie Kanyoni Bangaya Ndusha, Bamako, Mali The day chosen to celebrate my Jubilee was 04/14/24 because this year, 03/27 (the date of my first vows) fell on the Monday of Holy Week. The second Sunday of Easter being Mercy Sunday, there were many activities planned at the parish; so only Sunday 14 remained. Once the date was set, the community (Sr. Vicky and I) saw how to organize the celebration before submitting the proposal to the council office of our Christian community. A week before the feast, Sr. Vicky and I were worried. But, three days before the planned date, I was pleasantly surprised to see the entire Christian community in motion for the…
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…
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
A pre-postulant shares her apostolate in Butare
Our community in Butare is near the Cathedral One of the missions of Butare community is formation of the pre-postulants. Pre-postulant Uwizeyemariya Yvonne shares her experience on gardening, singing and teaching at kindergarten. I am Uwizeyemariya Yvonne, I am from Rwanda Northern province, Burera district, Byumba diocese, Bungwe parish. I started my apostolate in Butare community in August. I am happy in the community and the apostolate; it includes working in the garden and taking care of the pigs. I also go for singing practice to the Ingoro y’urukundo sisters. I am happy about this experience. I also work at a kindergarten school Indabo za Maria; this is a school of Brazilian sisters and they welcome and take care of poor children. I go to the apostolate every Wednesday and Thursday in the morning. We are two in the class and when I am there, I help by…
Gathering the fruits of our pilgrimage of Juniorate
Pilgrimage in the footsteps of Cardinal Lavigerie: Sr. Magdalena Orczykowska, Sr. Julia Alonso Martinez (animator), Sr. Iwona Cholewińska, Sr. Kandongo Kibole Yollande, Sr. Marietha Asimwe Joakim Rupia At the end of the Juniorate our sisters share their experience: At the end of this important and very profound journey, which is the beginning of another one, with Mary and with all of you who have been with me physically and spiritually, who have encouraged me and supported me on this journey of transformation, I turn to God as I say: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my saviour. For he has looked upon his handmaid’s lowliness. The Mighty one has done great things for me, holy is his name. His mercy is from age to age.” I am grateful to the Congregation which gave me this opportunity to grow, to…
Inter-Congregational Ongoing Formation Program (ICOF)
From Sr. Hélène Mbuyamba, Arusha Community, Tanzania A brief history In 2014, five congregations came together to set up an inter-congregational ongoing formation program (ICOF). This initiative came from the collaboration of the General Councils of the following 5 congregations: Spiritan Fathers, Missionaries of Africa, the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, the Comboni Missionaries and the Society of African Missions (SMA). The Comboni Missionaries subsequently withdrew and the OLA (Our Lady of Apostles) joined the group. Today, these five congregations are considered the founding members. The vision and mission the founding members had for the ICOF program are: Vision: Integrated priests and religious in Africa who joyfully bear witness to the Gospel in their personal, spiritual and pastoral lives. Mission: To provide Catholic priests and religious in Africa with the opportunity, space and time for personal renewal to better serve the Gospel in the concrete…
Audience with Pope Francis
January 3, 2024…a long-awaited date because we had been invited in a privileged way to Pope Francis’ general audience. At 7 a.m., we were enthusiastically marching towards the Vatican…. Wow!! A huge crowd of people were lining up…. They were way ahead of us!!! Courageous, we were the last in line, but before long we were no longer the last, and the queue was moving along at a good pace. Our yellow card put us in a special place called “baisemains”. We were in row 4… a great row to see Pope Francis up close! In these words, Pope Francis reminded us that in the Christian life, spiritual warfare is for all people who want to commit themselves to following Jesus, who himself had to live and manage his own life. Here is what he told us: Last week, we introduced the theme of vices and virtues. It’s…
Transition session 2023
The transition session took place in Rome from September 6 to 29, 2023. Three sisters participated (two were unable to obtain their visa). They share some experiences. From Sr. Kordula Weber, community of Karlsruhe, Germany I would like to emphasize the place given in the program activities, to relaxation and friendship. The superior of the community organized an outing for us to the beach. He accompanied us “in the footsteps of Cardinal Lavigerie” to the Church of St Agnès hors les Murs, where he received the hat and his charge as cardinal. Visit of the Generalate of our Congregation. Sisters Leticia Garduño of the General Council, Gloria Sedes, and Magdalena Orczykowska of the juniorate. An outing to Castel Gandolfo allowed us to admire the palace inside and the immense park. The visit to Assisi in the footsteps of St Francis was for us an opportunity to strengthen the…