God our Father,
we give you thanks for the 150 years
of the existence and mission of our Society,
we thank you for your faithful love,
for the graces of the Jubilee Year
and for our confreres Blessed
Charles, Jean, Alain and Christian,
witnesses of the power of a love
that gives itself to the end.

You never cease to invite us
to renew our missionary zeal
faithful to the evangelical intuitions
of our founder Charles Lavigerie.

We pray for the 29th General Chapter of the Society,
grant that we may listen to the Holy Spirit
to discover new ways of mission.

Free us from our fears and anxieties,
confirm us in our mission of “nomads for the Gospel”
going without fear into the deserts of the world
to offer to all the only water
that will quench their thirst,
your living water.

Keep us faithful
to our vocation of servants of dialogue,
help us to build bridges between people
and to promote a culture of encounter.

In the footsteps of Cardinal Lavigerie
may we become sowers of hope
in our service to those relegated
to the peripheries of our societies,
through Jesus Christ your Son.

Amen

Our Lady of Africa,
you who were in the upper room
with the disciples
be with us and pray for us!