From 16 to 23 February, the annual meeting of the General Council with the Provincials and Delegates of the Sections was held at the Generalate. Its main objective is to intensify collaboration with the confreres in charge of the Provinces and Sections of the continents where we are present. It is a question of listening to each other and sharing the different missionary realities in our mission posts.
Benefiting from their presence in Rome, the Missionaries of Africa (M.Afr.), and Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa (MSOLA), together with some friends highlighted this event with a pilgrimage, the crossing of the Holy Door and the celebration of the Eucharist in Saint Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.
The Vatican’s Holy Door is a special walled door. It is only opened during the Holy Years (or Jubilees), which generally take place every 25 years, or on special occasions decreed by the Pope.
Why go through the Holy Door?
Passing through the Holy Door is a powerful spiritual act for anyone wishing to place their life in the hands of God through Jesus Christ, because this act symbolises the passage to salvation and divine mercy. By crossing it, pilgrims demonstrate their desire for conversion and spiritual renewal. The Holy Door marks a passageway between the earthly world and a sacred space linked to spiritual purification, forgiveness, and reconciliation, opening the way to inner transformation and connection with the Lord.
Today, Saturday morning 22 February we passed through the Holy Door together, carrying with us all the weight of our weaknesses and the joy of all the good we have done throughout our history as Missionaries of Africa, and Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa. We also carry with us a deep desire for peace and well-being for all the peoples of the world who suffer from exploitation, poverty, and violence.
I can’t hide the fact that we carry the African continent in a special way in our hearts because, at present, many of the populations where we are working are facing situations of violence and insecurity, and in some cases have been forced to abandon their land for survival.
We know that everything we are and everything we do is meaningless without the light of Christ, who is love, forgiveness and reconciliation, which the world so desperately needs today.
By : Salvador Muñoz-Ledo R.