Mission outside Africa (Europe/Americas/Asia/Generalate) – Encounter and Dialogue
Friday, September 12, 2025, marked the end of the first week of the Plenary Council. The day consisted of three in-person and three online presentations.
In the morning, the Assistant General, Fr. Aloysius Ssekamatte, presented the mission aspect entitled “Mission outside Africa (Europe/Americas/Asia/Generalate)” in the Capitular Acts. He began by discussing the implementation of the first recommendation regarding the Generalate, which was presented as a “portal to the African world”. A team of six Generalate members, called “MG Vitrine”, has been established. This team has organized several activities. Father Aloysius pointed out that financing the activities remains a challenge. He then addressed the question of our presence in Asia. According to the Section report, our presence in Asia is valued, and the Society should not be discouraged by the visa issue. It was noted that it is the Chapter that decided about the Society’s presence in Vietnam. He added that all of our projects outside of Africa are valued, though some require evaluation. The General Council and all the Provinces and Sections are ready to support insertions outside of Africa by providing personnel.
The second half of the morning was devoted to another aspect of the mission, entitled “Encounter and Dialogue”. Father Anselme Tarpaga, Assistant General, introduced the subject by referring to the text of the Capitular Acts and informing participants that there would be additional presentations on the topic by confreres involved in the field. Father Prosper Harelimana, the JPIC-ED Coordinator, presented the Coordination’s activities in terms of Encounter and Dialogue. He concluded by stressing that the success of Encounter and Dialogue depends on the commitment of all, including Provincial Superiors, confreres, formators, and candidates.
The long-awaited moment had arrived to follow the witness accounts of three confreres engaged in Encounter and Dialogue missions. They were all connected via Zoom.
Father Innocent Habimana is on mission at the Saint Jean XXIII parish in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. He shared his experience with Christian-Muslim dialogue in Niger and Burkina Faso, noting: “I did not study Islamology. What I’m going to share with you is neither a theoretical presentation nor an academic discourse”. He gave several examples of the “dialogue of life” and “dialogue of work” that he experienced in these two countries with their different realities. In his conclusion, he stressed that dialogue with others does not happen overnight. It “requires patience, gentleness, humility, respect, and above all, a great deal of love. There will certainly be disappointments, but if there is love for the other, dialogue is always possible”.
Father Brendan O’Shea is on mission at the Kungoni Centre for Culture and Art in Mua, Malawi. He shared his experience engaging in dialogue with African Traditional Religions (ATR). He recalls developing an interest in this type of dialogue at a very early age: “My mother and those older people despite being staunch Catholics were also surrounded by many traditional beliefs that lasted long after St Patrick’s work”. His interest grew with the Missionaries of Africa and the various training courses and specializations he pursued. While on the mission, he witnessed the shame people felt because they were afraid their traditional beliefs were hidden behind another reality. “Kungoni put the lamp on the hill so that it would shine – these beliefs were no longer whispered or hidden but given due respect and precedence”. In his view, dialogue with ATR deepens our understanding of the divine in our lives.
Father Bonaventure Mashata is on mission in South Africa at the Edenglen community in Johannesburg. He serves the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) in the department for Ecumenism, Interreligious Dialogue, and Dialogue with the Secular World; as well as in the department for Formation, Life, and Ministry of Clergy. He shared his experience with ecumenism. Born to a Methodist father and a Catholic mother, he began his journey of dialogue within his own family. He recounted his ecumenical experiences as a Missionary of Africa: first in Ethiopia as a stagiaire and then as a priest. He then specialized in ecumenical studies before teaching ecumenism in Abidjan. While discussing the challenges he faces in his new mission in South Africa, he concluded that his experience with ecumenism “has unfolded as a landscape of relationships with people from various Christian denominations. […] the greater ecumenism lies in opening ourselves to the entire Universe, to Humanity, and to the Divine through Dialogue”.
The morning session, which kept participants captivated in front of the videoconference screen, culminated in the celebration of the Eucharist, presided over by Fr. Oswald Mallya, Provincial Superior of the EAP.
In the afternoon, participants gathered for a sharing session. It emerged that some confreres, who had been reluctant about the idea of our mission outside Africa, are now beginning to accept it. The mission outside Africa needs to be strengthened. With regard to the subject of Encounter and Dialogue, the participants expressed their profound gratitude for the three confreres’ online contributions. It is worth remembering the response of one of them: “It is the joy of being motivated by the love of Christ, that love which enables us to go out and meet others, to share the same realities, and to endure the same trials with patience; the joy of carrying the charism of the Missionaries of Africa”.
In conclusion, the Superior General thanked the participants for their commitment, which crowned the success of the first week. He invited them to rest on Saturday so they could continue devoting their energies to the reason they came to Nairobi.
On Sunday, September 14, 2025, participants will visit three prisons to show solidarity with our incarcerated brothers and sisters.
By: Serge Zihalirwa Boroto, M.Afr.,
