Society of Africa Missions

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The Society of Africa Missions in Lyon .

The Society of African Missions ( Latin Societas Missionum ad Afros , English Society of African Missions , order abbreviation : SMA ), or Lyon seminar (also called " White Fathers " , with which they should not be confused), is a society of apostolic life . It includes religious priests and lay brothers . The Society works closely with the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples .

The foundation

At the shrine of Fourvière , a Marian shrine in Lyon ( France ), on December 8, 1856, Bishop Melchior de Marion-Brésillac and six seminarians from the Lyon seminary vowed to do their work in the service of the people of Africa . They began their missionary work in May 1859 in Sierra Leone, West Africa . In June 1859, de Brésillac and his mission team died of yellow fever . The work that had begun was then continued by Father Augustine Planque the first superior general and other young missionaries in Africa. He also founded the Sisters of Notre Dame of the Apostles in 1876 .

Another story

Missionary in Dahomey (1930)

The missionary work of the Lyon seminary was in 1900 by Pope Leo XIII. approved. This is how the Africa missions society grew . Both the mother house and the generalate are located in Lyon . With 300 members in 1900, the number of missionaries in this seminary rose to 800 by 1965, 300 of whom were in Africa .

organization

Today the society has around 1200 members from over ten nations. It maintains provinces in France, Ireland , the Netherlands , USA , Great Britain , Canada , Spain , Belgium , Poland and the Philippines . The General House , seat of the Superior General and the General Council , is in Rome . The last major general assembly was held in 2006, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary, under the direction of Father Kieran O'Reilly , Superior General . The objectives of the General Assembly included the examination of the Society's possessions, analysis of the situation of life and work of the Society with the aim of renewing strength in the continuation of the mission, planning for the future, electing the General Superior and General Councils.

For over 150 years, the SMA educational institute has dedicated itself to the evangelization of the West African peoples and contributed to the emergence and growth of several local Catholic churches in Africa. The institute currently has 900 members and around 150 students .

The society also trains young African Christians in the study house in Accra (Ghana). Close contacts have existed with the Africa missionaries since the foundation of africa action / Germany , aid deliveries have been directed from the parent company in Oosterbeek (Netherlands) since 1983 . In the years that followed, Africa missionaries and africa action developed a trusting and cooperative partnership with the population in several places in Ghana and Niger .

General Superior

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ General Assembly 2006 General Assembly of the Society for the Africa Missions announced ( Memento from September 3, 2012 in the web archive archive.today )
  2. ↑ Publication of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples [1]
  3. ↑ africa action / Germany eV homepage [2]
  4. ↑ Study house of the Africa missionaries in Accra / Ghana Archived copy ( Memento from February 27, 2009 in the Internet Archive )

Web links