On Saturday, 3 May 2025, the General Council organized a meeting at the Generalate in Rome with the Superiors General of female religious congregations founded by Spiritans or sharing our spirituality. This meeting which was planned within the context of the animation on Spiritan spirituality and advancing the theme of the last General Chapter, Behold I am doing something new, was facilitated by the presence in Rome of many Superiors General for the meeting of the International Union of Superiors General (UISG), which is held in the Italian capital every three years.
The objectives of this one- day meeting held at the Generalate were first of all to get to know each other, then to share on current ways of understanding the charisms of our congregations, and finally to draw out possible avenues for future collaboration. This initiative is particularly meaningful during the current phase of animation of our congregation, which focuses on Spiritan spirituality, which we can assume has nourished or at least influenced the spiritualities of these sister congregations… or nieces, as some have preferred to call themselves!
Eleven Superior Generals were present or represented. We list them here with the year and country of their foundation: the Daughters of Mary (Réunion/France, 1849), the Daughters of the Sacred Heart of Mary (Senegal, 1858), which is the oldest Catholic women’s congregation founded south of the Sahara, the Missionary Sisters of the Holy Rosary (Ireland, 1924), the Daughters of Mary of Yaoundé (Cameroon, 1926), the Sisters of Our Lady of Kilimanjaro (Tanzania, 1931), the Servants of Mary of Douala (Cameroon, 1939), the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Diego Suarez (Madagascar, 1955), the Sisters of the Nativity (Nigeria, 1969), the Daughters of Divine Love (Nigeria, 1969), the Missionaries of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, also known as the ‘Daughters of Africa’ (Angola, 1979), and finally the Sisters of Jesus the Saviour (Nigeria, 1985). This represents about half of the women’s congregations initially invited and does not include the men’s congregations founded by confreres. However, analysis reveals three clearly distinguishable periods in the movements and reasons for the creation of the congregations mentioned. A first phase of foundations was led by the generation of Father Libermann’s novices (1848-1860); a second phase corresponded to the creation, by Spiritan bishops, of indigenous congregations at the very moment when missionary zeal was called upon to strengthen the local Churches (1919-1962), following in particular the encyclical Maximum illud (1919). Finally, a third generation, more recent and post-conciliar, continues in part the previous movement, but also shows a relative diversity in its charisms, in post-independence contexts and sometimes in the context of painful civil wars (1965 to the present).
The meeting included the celebration of the Eucharist presided over by Fr Alain Mayama, Superior General of the Spiritans and host. He thanked those present and recalled how important it is to share the richness of the Spiritan heritage, which is as diverse as it is inspiring. Like St. Paul, in the Bible reading of the day, the Spiritan Family lives by the maxim of passing on what it has received and experienced in its daily life.
The afternoon’s deliberations revealed several shared themes, notably the Marian dimension of our spiritualities, a profound commitment to assisting the poor and those in precarious situations, the promotion of human dignity—undoubtedly rooted in the historical mission of liberating slaves—and a dedication to evangelization that fosters holistic development. It is noteworthy that, without prior coordination, Cardinal Dieudonné Nzapalainga, who was residing at the Generalate during this pre-conclave period, echoed several of these same themes. His brief visit to greet the participants was warmly received and greatly appreciated.
All this was quite sufficient for a first meeting of this kind! The option was taken for possible future collaboration, either at regional or general levels, and the deepening of possible common elements in our spiritualities could be a question to work on together at a future meeting.
