Visit of Madame Florence Mangin, Ambassador of France to the Holy See to the Generalate

On Thursday 6^th June 2024, Madame Florence Mangin, Ambassador of France to the Holy See, and Father Bernard Planche, the Embassy’s ecclesiastical counsellor, honoured us with an official visit at the Generalate. This meeting was intended to establish a first contact, for a better mutual knowledge and to discuss the activities of our Missionary Society as well as those of the French Embassy to the Holy See.

The visit began with a meeting with the General Council. This exchange provided an opportunity to address the various aspects of our charism, our mission and the challenges we face in the Mission to the African world. Afterwards, the Ambassador and Father Bernard Planche took the chance to discover our Generalate. They visited the archives, where precious documents tracing the history of our Society’s missions are kept, the photo library, which provides a visual record of our mission and commitment in Africa for over a century, and the library, which has a vast collection of books and documents related to the African continent. The visit ended with a moment of silence and prayer in the crypt where the founder of the Society of the Missionaries of Africa, Cardinal Charles Lavigerie, is laid to rest.

We wish Madame Florence Mangin a lot of strength in her responsibilities and in her mission to the Holy See, and we assure her of our prayers. May this meeting be the beginning of a fruitful and enriching collaboration between the French Embassy to the Holy See and the Society of the Missionaries of Africa.

By: Pawel Hulecki, M.Afr.
Assistant General