My letter of appointment to Mexico arrived in December 2014. I was Parish Priest of Kasamba and Dean of the Samfya Deanery in the Diocese of Mansa in Zambia. This appointment surprised me and put me in a state of uncertainty and doubting. And what about learning Spanish? A short period of discernment reproached me that language problems were not an excuse for a missionary brain. I accepted the appointment. Continue reading “Not only a missionary stomach but also a missionary brain (PE nr. 1089 – 2018/03)”

I thank the Society of Missionaries of Africa for having given a new breath of fresh air to specialised studies by sending confreres for further education especially up to the level of a Ph.D. This shows that it is reading the signs of the times. I, therefore, welcomed my appointment to do a Doctorate in Moral Theology. Knowing that, in our Society, very few confreres do further studies and taking into account my age, I consider this appointment as a grace not for my own personal satisfaction but to better serve the Society. Continue reading “Rethinking Specialised Studies (PE nr. 1089 – 2018/03)”

After my ordination, I served at Mapeera Nabulagala Parish in Kampala for four years and eight months. During the first three years, I was the curate, and then I took over as Parish Priest. Seven months after taking that office, the Provincial informed me that I had been selected for specialized studies, and it wouldn’t be long before I started. The announcement was both a surprise and a shock. On the one hand, it was a surprise because the specialized studies proposed was in Business Administration, yet I used to think that if one day I were asked to Continue reading “My Experience in Specialized Studies (PE nr. 1089 – 2018/03)”

I am Brother Vitus Danaa Abobo, M.Afr. one of the lucky confreres who got all the support I needed to specialize in Social Communication, a B.A. program during my fourth phase of Initial Formation in Nairobi.

After one year of theological studies I was asked to Continue reading “Specialized Formation, a need for the mission, not a luxury (PE nr. 1089 – 2018/03)”

It is not unusual to meet confreres who think that specialized formation is not necessary to be a good missionary. I agree entirely if what they mean is that the mission does not depend on a head full of theories. We do not need a diploma to live the values of the Gospel, Encounter/Dialogue, Justice and Peace which constitute our identity as Missionaries of Africa. This is why an important aspect of studies at all Continue reading “Specialised Formation: between privilege, right and duty (PE nr. 1089 – 2018/03)”

What is called ‘Specialised studies’ in the vocabulary of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa is nothing but some supplementary studies needed to answer better the needs and goals of our Mission in Africa of today. From the very beginning, our Founder felt this need and the nature of what is needed varies from one period to another and from one place to the other. Let me leave the historical aspect of the topic to the historians Continue reading “Specialised studies today (PE nr. 1089 – 2018/03)”

In recent times our General Chapters have insisted on the necessity to appoint more confreres for specialised formation. This insistence is due to the rapidly changing nature of our world and to the fact that our globalised world has become more complex. Therefore, the aim of specialised formation is to help us respond to the missionary needs of our times. In the past, confreres have been appointed for specialised tasks without having been prepared for them and it has to be recognised, they did an excellent job. However, while it is true that Continue reading “Specialised formation: preparation for missionary service (PE nr. 1089 – 2013/03)”