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Letter promulgating the decisions of the first General Chapter (11th November 1874)
The Spirit of the Society – Before concluding this Letter, which is perhaps the last direct communication that I will address to you, my dear Sons, I wish to give you three recommendations that seem to me required for the success and preservation of your works.

Letter promulgating the decisions of the first General Chapter (11th November 1874)
Under the terms of the Ruling above, I chose Rev. Fr. Deguerry, from among the three Assistants to give him the office of Superior General for a period of three years, with the title of Vicar of the Society. My dear sons, you know him as the worker of the first hour. He shared faithfully with me in the works, the hardships, and the problems of our emerging works. You freely chose him yourselves, for in appointing him, I only followed your own indication.

I love you dearly, my Sons, but I would rather learn you were dead than see you lacking in the spirit of your vocation and become some kind of African Robinson Crusoes, as I have sometimes told you. Sursum corda! This is my cry sent to you across space, so as to rouse your souls.

In 1879, Lavigerie writes to Father Deniaud, in Tabora. He complains that his diary is desperately dry. He reminds the missionaries that they are not explorers, but apostles.