The children on/off the streets looking towards the future with hope
What is Tikondane?
Tikondane is the project of Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa in Lilongwe, Malawi, that works with and for the children on/off the streets. We work with close to 700 children per year of which more than 400 are newcomers on the streets.
The future of our Congregation depends on what we do today
All the sisters of temporary vows from the different mission countries met in Nairobi from June 29 to July 14, 2018. The meeting was animated by the General Council. It allowed us to share, to listen to one another and to let ourselves be enthused by the experiences of each one.
Official hymn for the jubilee of 150 years
Here is the official hymn – the song that won first place in the competition of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of our Lavigerie Family.
A generous response to God’s initiative
“I called you by your name: you are mine” Isaiah 43:1 This is the Bible text that Marie Ange Ndayishimiye chose as the center and spirit of her perpetual vows. Her vocation as a Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa is rooted in this call of a personal God, a call by name. It was God who took the initiative and Marie Ange followed with a whole itinerary of Faith and Trust. The vocation that grows (Burundi). I witnessed her commitment as coordinator of Catholic movements. At that time, the Lord was already shaping in her a missionary heart that loves prayer and loves to proclaim the Good News of the Gospel. She came with us to the mission and vocation (MVA) activities that we did in our community on the 3rd Sunday of each month. The Lord continued to call her. Step by step, she discovered our Charism…
Perpetual vows of Sister Marie Ange Ndayishimiye
Sr. Marie Ange Ndayishimiye made her perpetual profession on 15th April 2018 in Burundi, her native country, in Christ the King Cathedral, Gitega Archdiocese. The Mass was presided by Bishop Blaise Nzeyimana, Bishop of Ruyigi Diocese. Sr. Marie Ange pronounced her vows in kirundi, the language used in Burundi. Sr. Victoire received them on behalf of the Superior General. Hundreds of people attended the well prepared celebration. Among them were the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa from neighbouring countries, the Missionaries of Africa, members of other congregations who participated and helped a lot in the celebration, the cathedral choir, altar servers, liturgical dancers (girls and boys), priests, family members and friends, as well as parishioners of Christ the King Parish since it was a Sunday.They all came to celebrate and witness Marie Ange’s commitment. Important symbols for our Congregation and Burundian culture The Mass began…
Final commitment of Sr. Hien Franceline in Burkina Faso
“The Lord has done wonders for me. Holy is his name … “ On April 28, 2018, in the Parish Church of St. Therese of Avila de Pouloba in the Diocese of Diébougou, I pronounced my definitive “Yes” following Christ. What a Grace! What joy! It was for me and for everyone a day of thanksgiving and joy. In fact, the celebration of my definitive commitment has succeeded so well thanks to the commitment of my sisters, of the family who have prepared everything with love and joy. To make ourselves known in the diocese of Diébougou By expressing to the community of Ouagadougou Cathedral my desire to make of my commitment a vocation animation in the diocese, they proposed concrete and achievable things. They found themselves in face of a stranger, but this did not prevent their commitment. On Friday, April 20th our sisters Garduno Mejia Leticia and Sizalande…
Women with women – victims of human trafficking
After many years spent in Africa (Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Mozambique) Sr. Begoña Iñarra Spanish was sent for mission to Paris where she is working with Aux Captifs, la Libération, an organization helping women get out of prostitution. Sister is also a member of RENATE, Religious in Europe Networking Against Trafficking and Exploitation. A beautiful dream of a good job often becomes a nightmare All together, you have spent more than 20 years in Africa. When you see the growing number of Africans now trying to come to Europe, and when you see how many women end up as traffic victims, what do you think about this? Poor people have always left their countries in search of a better future. But the Africans who leave now are not the poorest. They must have some money to pay the traffickers who organize the migrations. They have to be able to borrow…
Celebrating 150 years: The reopening of the “The White Caravan” exhibition in the Netherlands
The Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa in the Netherlands reopened the exhibition “The White Caravan” in the Religious Heritage Center of St. Agatha – a little village near Cuijk/Nijmegen. The exhibition was prepared for the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the founding of the “Lavigerie Family” (the Missionaries of Africa and the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa). On well prepared panels you can read the history of both Congregations in the Netherlands during the past 150 years and their missionary work in Africa. There are many African items such as: drums, textile prints, gifts, wooden animals or books, old cashbooks, chronicles, magazines, annual reports, letters, saving boxes for the mission, old suitcases, a motorbike, the old costumes of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa and the Missionaries of Africa, paintings, drawings of missionaries and Our Lady of Africa, as well as many old movies…