Letter from the Superior General

Three years ago we started to prepare ourselves for the commemorations of the 150 years of existence of our missionary institutes. We had then foreseen that the Jubilee year is to start on 8th December 2018. The chosen theme is With Christ, ever faithful to Africa. As you might have heard, the Church has chosen this very date for the beatification in Oran…

Read here the full letter of the Superior General.

Josef Stricker, R.I.P.

Father Rudi Pint, Provincial Delegate of the sector of Germany,
informs you of the return to the Lord of Father

Josef Stricker

on 15th September 2018 at the Munich Hospital (Germany)
at the age of 83 years, of which 56 years of missionary life
in Upper Volta (Burkina Faso) and in Germany.

Let us pray for him and for his loved ones.

Download here the death notice of Josef Stricker Continue reading “Josef Stricker, R.I.P.”

Feast of the Nativity of Mary in Jerusalem

“On September 8, the church celebrates the birth of the Virgin Mary. The Franciscans, together with the local church, went on pilgrimage to the place where according to tradition, the Madonna was born.”

That place is… St. Anne’s and the community of the Missionaries of Africa.  One Man in White is the General Consul (of France)… and the other one is a WF, Frans, making some publicity for our 140th Jubilee (W.F. at St Anne’s) and for our 150th Jubilee (Lavigerie family). Enjoy the video.

If it does not play well, follow the original link.

Creation Time, week 3

The celebration of Creation Time, which originated in the Orthodox tradition, was taken up by the World Council of Churches and recommended to the Catholic Church by Pope Francis. In the third week, we reflect on creation as a sign of God’s infinite wisdom. We are invited to recognize this wisdom, to internalize it and transmit it to others.

Theme of week 3 :

Transmitting the gift of wisdom

Download the Biblical and Liturgical texts of week 3.

Download the Biblical and Liturgical texts of week 2.

Download the Biblical and Liturgical texts of week 1.

Towards an ethical discernment of our economic and financial systems

The Vatican calls for Ethical Discernment in our Economic-Financial Systems.

The problem with our economic and financial systems goes beyond these systems themselves. The real problem lies in our dysfunctional human mind, our skewed understanding of human anthropology and the unconscious consequent infinite value that we have placed on this instrument of exchange called money. According to the Buddhist religion, the human mind in its normal state generates dukkha which can be translated as ‘unsatisfactoriness’ or just plain misery.
[…]

Read on by downloading the PDF of our confrere Wolfgang Schonecke’s article (with Chika Onyejiuwa), or read it on the A.E.F.J.N website.

Interview of Gilles Barette on Radio Canada

Radio Canada – Sunday 11:45 am – Interview (in French) of our confrere Gilles Barrette by Michel Désautels on the 150 years of presence in Africa.

“Founded in 1868 by the French Cardinal Charles Lavigerie, the Missionaries of Africa community, better known as the White Fathers, sent emissaries to Montreal and Quebec City in 1875 to seek funding. This is the beginning of a great adventure that will see more than 650 Canadian fathers and brothers dressed in white cassocks to carry the ideals of humanist Christianity to Africa. Michel Désautels receives the former provincial superior of the Missionaries of Africa, Father Gilles Barrette.”

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New structured email adresses

 

Transition Session Opening Mass – Rome September 2018

This homily was delivered by Francis Barnes, First Assistant General, at the opening of the Transition Session in Rome on Thursday, September 6, 2018.

Dive into the depths. This is certainly the call of religious life; to go to the depths; to go into the unmarked waters of life. The problem is that we prefer the shallow waters of our proven methods of doing, we prefer the shallow waters of our doctrine and the laws where we are safe, we prefer to stay on the shore with our fears and feelings of apprehension. We all know that when it comes to jumping into the unknown, we are afraid and moving to deeper waters for sure does not excite us. Continue reading “Transition Session Opening Mass – Rome September 2018”

Creation Time, week 2

From September 1 to the feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Christians give thanks for the gift of creation and reflect on how they can protect it and transmit it to future generations. For Pope Francis, both are important in order to “hear the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor”. Continue reading “Creation Time, week 2”

General Consultation on the vocation of Brother

[…] Brother confreres have played an important and vital role in the evangelising Mission that our Society has been carrying out in the Universal Church. All our General Chapters had something to say about the vocation of Brothers in the Society. It is in this perspective that the 28th General Chapter (2016) in its Strategic Plan (4.1 Initial Formation) invited the whole Society ‘to rethink the vocation of the Brother in order to clarify the specific nature of the vocation and make it more attractive for a better service in mission’. […]

Download here the full letter of the General Council (PROT. 18 0963 E)