Is our Rosary merely an ornament, a beautiful object, or truly an instrument of prayer? How many times have I prayed with it since receiving it?
Where is my Rosary? Where is my gandoura? I no longer have a gandoura; I’ll have another one made. And the Rosary? When will it be ready?
Right from the beginning of our Society of Missionaries of Africa, our founder, Cardinal Charles Lavigerie, dedicated the Society to Mary, Our Lady of Africa. To manifest and perpetuate this consecration, the Rosary we wear and which every Missionary of Africa should wear, was introduced. As the saying goes, “behind every great man is a woman”. Similarly, behind every apostolic Society committed to the mission of the Church, there must be the Virgin Mary – supporting its members and interceding for them, and guiding them in their mission.
Cardinal Lavigerie was not mistaken when he dedicated our Society to the Virgin Mary. To think that we can live and make the mission fruitful without Mary, or by neglecting and not giving Mary, Our Lady of Africa, her rightful place in missionary life, is to go against the vision and will of the founder.
As we strive to revitalise our identity as Missionaries of Africa, we cannot overlook the pivotal role of Mary, Our Lady of Africa. We must ask ourselves: Who is she for me, as a missionary? Who is she for our Society?
The Virgin Mary is, and always will remain, the way par excellence to reach Jesus. No one has known Him more intimately than she has. For this reason, if we are to follow and serve Christ faithfully, every missionary worthy of the name must pass through the school of the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Africa. Our founder recognised this. But what is the situation today? Where do we stand? Where is Mary in our personal and community lives? Does she still have a place?
My personal experience
My personal experience has led me to a profound conviction: the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Africa, listens, intercedes and accelerates the granting of my prayers. I feel her support in my missionary life. Even before I considered joining the Missionaries of Africa, I prostrated myself before her statue and prayed: “Holy Virgin Mary, obtain for me the grace to be one day totally at the service of your Son, Jesus Christ.”
When I arrived at the novitiate, the Rosary was among the insignia given to us. Since that day, it has held a special place in my life as a Missionary of Africa to such an extent that I feel incomplete if I forget to take it with me to Mass.
The place of Our Lady of Africa in our Society must not be optional. It is not a matter of personal preference or private devotion. Allowing each person to “choose” whether or not to give her a place would be a serious mistake, contrary to the will of our founder. Mary guarantees the presence of Christ where His absence might otherwise be felt. When we feel abandoned in our mission, we must turn to her.
There is much to learn about Jesus, especially how to follow and serve Him, that can only be learned through Mary. She helps us understand what her Son expects of us.
Who remembers the little Marian prayer booklet? When was the last time we used it? Was it produced only for a specific era in our Society? I don’t think so. Therefore, this booklet should be reaffirmed and reintroduced. Where can we find it? Surely, some copies can still be found in our formation house libraries. Unfortunately, it has been discarded in some communities because according to them, “it is no longer fashionable.”
The place of Mary, Our Lady of Africa, has become, in our time, a personal matter. As a result, her feasts are often forgotten, unknown, rarely celebrated, or only mentioned in passing within our communities.
I am concerned that the feasts dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of Africa, and those honouring our founder, Cardinal Lavigerie, are mainly celebrated only in formation houses. Why is this the case? I don’t have the answer, but the question persists in my mind.
I am not one of those who see only darkness, even when there is light. I must acknowledge that in some of our M. Afr. communities, like here in Niger, we remain faithful to certain practices. For instance, we say the Angelus after midday prayer, and conclude meetings and celebrations with the Sancta Maria.
At the parish level, the month of the Rosary is always well animated by Christians, with or without the clergy. Unfortunately, some priests, including confreres, see this time of prayer with the Virgin Mary as solely a matter for lay devotion. They say things like: “It’s just a devotion,” or “I’m not a chaplain of the Marian movement.”
But this raises important questions: when Cardinal Lavigerie placed our Society under the patronage of Our Lady of Africa, was it merely for the sake of devotion? Was he just a chaplain of a Marian group? Or did he see something more profound and more vital, in consecrating the entire Society to her? You will not find the answers to these questions in this article. The answers lie within you.
The more we walk with Mary and allow ourselves to be taught by her, the more we will discover that she is truly with us in our mission. In our predominantly Muslim mission environments, Mary, Our Lady of Africa, is also Our Lady of Dialogue.
She is with us in every encounter with our Muslim brothers and sisters. This is not just a matter of devotion, it’s a model for mission. Mary teaches patience and fidelity, virtues every missionary needs, especially those engaged in interreligious dialogue. She was with Jesus at all times, in all places, and in all circumstances.
Far from being left to personal initiatives or private devotions, we should reconsider the place of Mary, Our Lady of Africa, in our communities, our missions, and throughout the Society, just as our founder intended.
Just as Jesus, from the cross, said to Mary and John: “Woman, here is your son… Here is your mother” (Jn 19:25–27), I believe our founder is saying to Mary: “Here are your sons, Missionaries of Africa,” and to us, “Here is your Mother.”
By: Pierre Cebuluzi, M.Afr.