On the morning of 30th June, Philip Massawe and Justi Tarimo presented a compelling reflection on Formation which remains at the core of Spiritan missionary life, shaping confreres, communities and leaders led by the Spirit to something new. Bagamoyo II calls for renewed commitment to formation through collaboration, strategic planning, and investment in formators, novice directors, intercultural missionary experiences, and Spiritan spirituality. Despite ongoing challenges—including personnel, financial strains and uneven support structures—the Congregation continues to strengthen its formation programs, with centres of Villa Notre-Dame-Italy, Chevilly and Rennes-France, Chemichemi ya Uzima-Kenya, Mater Christi-Burkina Faso, Silva-Portugal and SIST-Attakwu-Nigeria. The Spiritan family is invited to walk together in nurturing missionaries prepared to serve with wisdom, intercultural sensitivity, and Spirit-led conviction.
Chapter Eight of Bagamoyo II reaffirms that formation—initial and ongoing—is central to the Spiritan Congregation’s life and mission. Responding to global realities and missionary needs, it calls for renewed collaboration and strategic planning across circumscriptions, Unions, and the General Council. Key priorities include training formators and novice directors, enhancing missionary experience placements (PME), updating formation guides, and deepening Spiritan spirituality throughout the formation journey.
To implement these recommendations, the General Council established a Formation Commission and expanded the role of the Coordinator for Formation, enabling more effective visits, supervision, and follow-up with formation communities. This has already led to improvements in formation quality and structural accountability.
Training Formators BG II, decision 122 emphasizes the need for every confrere assigned to formation to undergo at least six months of preparatory training. Previously managed locally, Bagamoyo II now urges the General Council to lead in identifying and organizing qualified formators. As of 2025, the ideal formator-to-student ratio remains unmet, and progress is hindered by the limited number of trained personnel. From 2022 to 2025, 59 confreres received relevant training across multiple centres, though greater use of institutions like Duquesne in U.S.A. and Berg en Dal in the Nederland is encouraged.
Novice Directors and Spiritan Spirituality Decision 88 mandates that future novice directors receive formation in Spiritan spirituality. A new partnership with the Province of France now enables French-speaking confreres to attend a one-year program at Chevilly-Larue followed by six months of formation in Spiritan charism at Rennes. For Anglophone and Lusophone regions, a successful program was held at SIST, Nigeria in October 2024, and similar efforts are underway in Portugal, revealing growing regional commitment to deeper spiritual preparation.
Missionary Experience (PME) BG II, decisions 114 and 116 stress PME as a vital step in formation. Circumscriptions must submit PME plans and ensure placements occur in culturally distinct contexts. Coordination remains a challenge, but improvements continue—69.3% of PME students recently completed international or intercultural missions.
Current Challenges Formation communities face persistent difficulties:
- Insufficient formators and inconsistent discernment in candidate selection
- Burnout and morale issues among long-serving personnel
- Financial instability, particularly in Union-run houses
- Inadequate infrastructure and over-enrolment
- Limited inter-Union collaboration in managing shared responsibilities
- Uneven recruitment practices and weak postulancy support structures
Way Forward Bagamoyo II recommends:
- Long-term planning for training and specialized studies
- Early PME coordination and clear accompaniment strategies
- Financial accountability and care for formation infrastructure
- Collaborative formator selection among Unions
- Responsible student intake based on actual capacity
- Development of formative communities for PME mentorship
- Investment in Spiritan spirituality, especially in underserved regions
Conclusion Formation remains the lifeblood of the Spiritan vocation—shaping hearts for mission, fostering intercultural awareness, and ensuring fidelity to the Congregation’s charism. Through sustained collaboration and strategic effort, the Spiritan family is called to renew its commitment to form Spirit-led religious missionaries, ready to serve with love and conviction.
And on the afternoon, Mariano Espinoza presented a pivotal reflection on the critical decline of vocation to brotherhood in the Congregation and the call of BG II.
The 2025 EGC revisited the pressing concern raised at Bagamoyo II: the dramatic decline in vocations to brotherhood. Since 2021, only 3 of 292 mission appointments were brothers, sparking fears that this vital expression of Spiritan life may vanish without decisive action. In response, the first General Assembly of Brothers in Anglophone West Africa (UCAWA) took place in Abuja in 2023, themed “A Rescue Mission Agenda.” Ten brothers from Nigeria and Ghana reflected on promoting vocations, enhancing formation, and improving visibility. They called for Brothers to join vocation and formation teams, use social media to showcase pastoral and professional contributions, and celebrate religious professions and anniversaries publicly.
Strategic topics—including vocation promotion, formation curriculum, priest-brother relations, and welfare—were discussed, with recommendations awaiting formal integration. The Assembly proposed biannual regional meetings, local gatherings, and a future global brothers’ conference. It also emphasized the need for an action plan involving leadership, brothers, priests, laity, and religious, underscoring t hat the brother’s vocation reflects deeper questions about consecrated life within a clericalizing congregation. A paradigm shift is needed, led by religious priests concerned about this diminishing vocation.
The report advocates for a communication platform for brothers across circumscriptions, greater vocational animation, and consistent formation paths aligned with the Spiritan Guide for Formation. These steps are vital to renewing and sustaining the brother’s role in the Congregation’s mission and witness.
As the Congregation assembles here in Chevilly, to review the decisions of Bagamoyo II, let us remember that the vocation of brother remains a huge challenge in the Congregation. It is the wish of the brothers that the reflections and proposals of the EGC will lead to concrete steps to bring new dimensions and hope to the vocation of brother. Together let us “do something new” to make the vocation of brothers flourish once more.
