30th April Patronal feast of Our Lady of Africa
Cardinal Lavigerie reminds us that “he could never do any good without the intercession and the special protection of the Blessed Virgin from whom he often felt the effects in an extraordinary way. He believed that the missionaries of Algiers would never do anything except through her assistance.” (Lavigerie to his missionaries, p. 101) On this day we celebrate the presence of Our Lady of Africa in our apostolate, in our mission, in our congregation. This year, we want to remember her through the visit of Pope Leo to the Basilica in Algiers, with a series of photos taken from the video of his visit in April 2026.
Refugees’ wellbeing at the heart of our mission
From the Ukusijoni Community, in Uganda The state of refugee life is in fact a life of poverty. For some it becomes misery, seeing how they forcibly left their own land to establish themselves in a very limited space in another country. Some manage to come out of it, but the majority remain in a dire situation. This is the case of so many in Maaji and Agojo refugee settlements in Adjumani district, Northern Uganda. Our mission in Maaji and Agojo settlements, seeks to respond to the concrete realities of the refugees with their various needs. It is a pastoral apostolate that includes humanitarian responses where possible. Refugees need God in the first place, in whom they find their answers, and those they discover as God’s messengers become part of their lives. Our service to them seems to have come at the right time, when amid the…
Pope Leo XIV in Algeria as a Messenger of Peace
Algerian faithfuls This post is an extract from Vatican news Link to the article Pope Leo XIV made an Apostolic visit to Algeria on Monday April 13th. In the following interview, Fr. Vincent Kyererezi, a member of the Missionaries of Africa and Vicar General of the diocese of Laghouat-Ghardaïa, explains the importance of the visit and the role of the Church in the predominantly Muslim Algerian society. How big is the catholic community in Algeria and in the diocese of Laghouat-Ghardaïa where you serve? The Catholic community in Algeria is estimated at 8900 faithfuls. The diocese of Laghoaut-Ghardaïa where I serve as Vicar General has about 2,240 Christians, served by 14 priests, including the bishop, 19 nuns, and 5 religious brothers. We generally serve in a “Church of encounter and dialogue with Muslims” that endeavors to foster fraternity, mutual understanding and harmonious co-existence with one another. The Catholic Church has four dioceses:…
Pope Leo XIV at Notre-Dame d’Afrique
From Sr Bernadette Djekoye on mission in Algeria “But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (luke 1:43) These words of Elizabeth, expressing both humility and deep joy, resonate with what I experienced when Pope Leo XIV was welcomed to Algeria. It is with great joy that I share with you my experience of this visit to Notre-Dame d’Afrique on 13 April 2026. For several months, preparations had been intensifying, both within the Church and on the part of the Algerian government, whose commitment was admirable. Everything was organised very well. On the morning of 13 April, from a large stadium, extensive transport arrangements and an impressive security operation were put in place to take us to the basilica, situated on the heights of Algiers. This place is highly symbolic: it is both a place of prayer for Christians and…
A new member at the Dicastery
The Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development was created on August 17, 2016 according to the wishes that our Holy Father Pope Francis expressed in his Apostolic Letter, under the form of a Motu Proprio, Humanam Progressionem. The new Dicastery promotes the integral development of the person in light of the Gospel and in line with the Social Doctrine of the Church. It dedicates particular attention to taking care of the goods of justice, peace and the safeguarding of Creation, as well as issues regarding disarmament, human rights, human mobility, health, charitable works, expressing the concern and attention of the Pope towards a humanity that suffers, among whom are the needy, the ill and the excluded. In addition, the Dicastery follows issues regarding the necessities of those who are forced to abandon their own countries or those who are without one, the marginalized, the victims of armed conflicts and…
Walking Together in Mission: Insights from the Tanzania Gathering
Sister Angela Kapitingana shares a video about the meeting that took place in Tanzania from 17 to 23 March 2026. For these five days, we, the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa, from all over the countries where we are for mission, in Africa, Europe, Canada and America, we have met here. The purpose of this meeting was simply the Synodal Way, to come together, to listen together, to discern together for the way forward, how we want to continue to live the theme chapter and the mandate that the chapter gave us in 2023. Indeed, it has been a moment of encounter where we explore together what does the world today invite us to respond effectively. Secondly, this encounter marks our great, great desire of how we want to work together without fear. We want to bring about new life, even in our very ordinary ministries that we are…
Celebrating in the periphery in Rwanda
From our Sr. Marie Kanyoni, in the community of Butare, in Rwanda Our community wanted to conclude the bicentennial of Cardinal Lavigerie with the sister congregations, the Benebikira and the Abizeramaria from our parish; and also with our close neighbors from the cathedral as well as our collaborators, the former students of MSOLA. Then, one of us had the idea of inviting the poor from the peripherie with whom we work in our apostolates, that is, the four groups from three different villages and the Notre Dame d’Afrique Center (sewing center for young women). With this gesture, we find ourselves fully in line with the apostolic exhortation of Pope Leo XIV: From the beginning, Scripture manifests with such intensity God’s love through the protection of the weak and the less fortunate, that one could speak of a kind of ‘soft spot’ of God towards them. The poor have…
Loving the poor and the reality of life
Nairobi is a city of contrasts A touching testimony from Sr. Marietha Joakim, Nairobi, Kenya When I reflect on my experience of helping the poor, I do not begin with theories or Church documents. I begin with the streets of Nairobi, with the people I meet every day with faces that are easy to pass by, yet difficult to forget. Nairobi is a city of contrasts. Tall buildings, busy roads, and signs of development exist side by side with deep poverty. In recent times, the number of homeless people and beggars has visibly increased. At every traffic stop, outside supermarkets, along major roads, and near churches and mosques there are people asking for help. Some are elderly, some are children, many are young adults who should be in the prime of their strength but have nowhere to go. So far, my personal experience of helping the poor…
Past and present, for the future!
Srs. Marie-Ange Ndayishimiye, Lucile Habimana, Margareth Kibola, Olive Nihorimbere, Mia Dombrecht. Next to Msgr Victor Ndione, and the Bishop emeritus Msgr Martin Happe M.Afr. In the 1970s, the wife of the first President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, Mrs Ould Dadah, had expressed to the Bishop at the time, Mgr De Chevigny, her desire to have catholic sisters who could work with Mauritanian women. Our Congregation responded positively to this request, as being women with women in a multicultural country is in line with the apostolic priorities of our Congregation. Sr Jeanne Guérid was the first missionary sister of Our Lady of Africa to arrive in Nouakchott in November 1975. This October, we wished to celebrate with our parish our 50 years in Mauritania and combined these celebrations with the 200th anniversary of the birth of Cardinal Lavigerie. On Thursday 23 October, we led the adoration service at…
The heart still beats… a memorable day in Ouarzazate
Our Sisters in Ouarzazate, 3rd on the left Sr. Rehema and in the centre Sr. Hélène, among the faithful who came to celebrate together the Eucharist The Community of Ouarzazate, Morocco, share a memorable day There are days that leave an indelible mark on the soul, like a light that continues to shine for a long time. Sunday, October 26, was one of those days. In a context that does not allow us to hold open public activities or celebrations, we chose to mark the closing of the Jubilee Year of our Founder, Cardinal Charles Lavigerie, with what unites us most: a Eucharistic celebration imbued with recollection and fervour. A moment where every gesture and word counts. The preparations were simple but made with much love. A few prayers, a short message about our Founder and prayer intentions filled with hope. We also chose hymns in different…