Joy shared: my first religious profession
“This is the day that the Lord has made, let it be for us a day of feast and joy.” Ps 117, 24 The dream come true The 30/04/2018, was an unforgettable day in my life in which the Lord filled me with his joy and inner peace. I was very happy to move towards the altar with the processional hymn that spoke to me so much: “Naja kwako Bwana, unipo keem tumishi wako” which translates: “I come to you Lord, receive me, your servant”. I said to myself, the dream nourished for years is realized today, the offering of all my being to God in the service of my brothers and sisters. I was delighted to pronounce my vows for the first time in complete freedom and confidence; by pronouncing them a strength and inner assurance inhabited me. Welcome into a new family What has also given…
Final vows of Vickness Muleya and Linah Siabana
On April 8, 2018 at the parish of Kabwata, Lusaka, 9 Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa from different countries Africans joined family members, Missionaries of Africa and diocesan priests in the joyous procession with song and dance, to accompany our sisters Linah Siabana and Vickness Muleya. During the Eucharistic celebration presided over by Archbishop Mpundu of Lusaka, the two sisters pronounced their perpetual vows. In his homily, the bishop expressed his deep concern for missionary vocations. He stressed the need for missionaries and encouraged the whole community to continue to promote and support missionary vocations. During the celebration, traditional dances were performed to accompany our sisters to the altar. As a sign of the sisters’ maturity and their willingness to fulfill the mission in trust in God, the women smeared their foreheads with flour. Sr. Florence Mwamba, canonical authority of our entity, representing our Superior General, prepared…
Beatification of the martyrs of Algeria
The celebration of the beatification of Bishop Pierre Claverie and his 18 companions and martyrs on Algerian soil took place on Saturday 8th December 2018 at the Shrine of Notre Dame de Santa Cruz in Oran, Algeria. Among the beatified, we find Fathers Charles Deckers, Jean Chevillard, Alain Dieulangard et Christian Chessel – our four brothers, Missionaries of Africa, who were assassinated in Tizi Ouzou in 1994, and the monks of Thiberine, who were kidnapped and assassinated in 1996. “They all died because they had chosen, by grace, to remain faithful to those with whom they lived and shared services, and had become neighbors. Their deaths revealed that their life was at the service of all: the poor, women in difficulty, disabled, young, all of them Muslims. (…)These beatifications say that hatred is not the right answer to hate, that there is no inevitable spiral of violence. They want…
Final commitment of Sr. Gosia Popławska
On December 30, 2017 our sister Gosia Popławska pronounced her perpetual vows in our Congregation. The celebration took place in Gorzów Wielkopolski, her hometown in north-western Poland. United in the same family and the same mission: Together with our sisters, our brothers the Missionaries of Africa and the family and friends of Gosia, we witnessed this great event, not only for the parish but also for the diocese. To our surprise, the priest presented our congregation very well, citing the thoughts and writings of Mother Marie Salome (our first superior general) and Cardinal Lavigerie (our founder) as if he were part of our Lavigerie family! In his homily, Fr. Marcin Zaguła, Missionary of Africa, reminded us of the importance of our responsibility to the Mission and to the whole Church. Bishop Tadeusz Lityński invited Gosia to be the light of the Gospel wherever she would be sent. To share…
An MSOLA in Togo, a novelty, a call!
An open door to Togo: In December 2017, I had the opportunity to go to Atakpamé, in Togo and participate in the ordination of Father Amorain Kwami Welagnon WAYIKPO – one of our brothers of the Missionaries of Africa. At the same time, it was a great opportunity to share with the Togolese people about our charism and our mission. Our Togolese brother Amorain, Missionary of Africa: On December 30, Amorain was ordained a priest in the parish of Sts. Peter and Paul of Kougnohou. It was a very beautiful celebration during which the bishop, Mgr. Nicodemus Anani BARRIGAH-BENISSAN, called him to persevere in his vocation by being faithful to prayer, living in humility, loving the mission and the people among whom he is sent. Our brother Amorain was sent on a mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo. At the end of the celebration, I sang the Sancta Maria…
Encounters and places that changed my life
To announce Jesus is urgent.” Such is the cry, the call always being renewed by Sr. Finita Martinez Canovas, a Spanish Missionary Sister of Our Lady of Africa. In her testimony, she shares her journey of encounters and her inner journey where the difference between cultures and religions forces her to stay awake. My thanksgiving becomes more concrete and explicit through this reality of the Encounter. Yes, that is what I lived: invigorating energizing encounters, full of light that launched me onto new paths. The Meeting with Jesus: It was at the age of 18, it upset my life filling it with meaning, consolation and orienting it to new horizons: first my Christian vocation, then the call to religious-missionary life. What a beautiful experience! The encounter with other peoples, cultures, religions through the people around me: First it was the great Congo-Zaire. What brave people, open, frank. With this people…
“Thank you for loving us! Thank you for learning luganda!”
Give thanks in all circumstances – the spirit of gratitude of the Baganda people Rejoice always; pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances: For this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess 5, 16-18) Hearing these words of Saint Paul on the third Sunday of Advent, I could not help but think with admiration of the Baganda people, among whom I have the grace to live and serve. As soon as I started to learn the local language, luganda and with it, the culture of the milieu, I was struck by that wonderful spirit of gratitude that dominates almost all the conversations in luganda. First, in any of the greetings we cannot fail to thank for the work done, whatever it is. After we finish eating, we thank the person who prepared the meal and in response we hear: “Thanks for eating!” Because there are those…
An old leper man: “Thank you so much, may God bless you abundantly!”
Jamani sista waambie: “Asanteni sana, Mungu awabariki!” Please sister, tell them: “Thank you so much, may God bless you abundantly!” Dear readers, people of good will and all those who have been working very hard to raise money for lepers, greetings! The above words of gratitude was said to me by an old leper man, during my visit to their Camp in Bukumbi Mwanza, Tanzania 17th May 2017. I thus feel restless to keep them to myself as they were really said and meant for you. The background: At the beginning of January 2017, our community of Lublin – Poland, received some money from the Capuchin Fathers of Pociekajka. Just as they have been doing, the Fathers/brothers gathered that money around the leper’s day and passed it on to us. The idea was to send that money to those in need and this time, we decided to give it…
Juniorat 2017, let’s go !
Preparation for final commitment for the Sisters Vickness Muleya, Marie-Ange Ndayishimiye, Franceline Hien, Linah Siabana, Thérèse Namakoma Nyarukanyi and their animators, Sisters Ingrid Hager and Hélène Mbuyamba For us, this well in the drawing represents the Word of God. It invites us to listen to Jesus who speaks through events.
Un unsung HERO: “MSOLA”
The story tells how MSOLA – Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa- keeps close to her heart the cause of the woman in the world; she wants to make a difference in the life of the one who brings to life; the one who carries life in a secret place and brings it as a gift to this world; male and female; slave and task master; rich and poor, king and prince. MSOLA cares for humanity because the woman she cares for is at the center of human life. On her mission to serve the woman, MSOLA knows no boundaries. The mountains so high, the ocean so deep, the wilderness so dense would not prevent her from responding to the cry of a woman in despair. In this amazing story, our unsung HERO “MSOLA” has brought a special touch to the lives of vulnerable mothers and their babies in…