Episcopal Ordination at Dassa-Zoumé, March 28, 2015 Bishop François Gnonhossou, SMA the New Bishop of Dassa-Zoumé

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1 N 86 April 2015 Editorial Episcopal Ordination at Dassa-Zoumé, March 28, 2015 Bishop François Gnonhossou, SMA the New Bishop of Dassa-Zoumé On behalf of all the members and lay associates of the Society of African Missions, I sincerely congratulate Fr François Gnonhossou SMA on his nomination as Bishop of Dassa-Zoume in the Republic of Benin. This is an honour for François himself as it is an honour for the entire Society. I can personally testify to the fact that Pope Francis has made a good choice. François is blessed with the gifts and aptitudes necessary for the role. From primary evangelisation ministry in Kontagora, Nigeria - to formation training in France - to leadership in the developing African District-in-formation - to ministry in rural Canada - to membership General Secretariat - Società delle Missioni Africane - Via della Nocetta, Roma Telephone (+39) Fax (+39) secgen@smaroma.org

2 of the General Council, François has gained vast experience which will all stand to him in meeting the challenges of his new role. Over the last two years I have worked closely with François in the General Council. He is a holy and prayerful priest, a committed and loyal servant of the Society of African Missions. I have no doubt he will bring these same qualities and virtues to his work as shepherd of the Catholic community of Dassa-Zoume. We will miss François as a member of our General team, his friendship and ready smile. He played a key role in all Council meetings and had the special briefs of Justice and Peace and the participation of laity in our mission. We are indebted to him for the good work done so far. The loss to SMA is the gain of Dassa-Zoume. He will bring his strong missionary commitment and perspective to the local church so as to broaden its vision. The General Council will now work with the members of the Plenary Council to nominate a successor to François on the General Council [cf. C&L, 96 7]. I ask all members of the SMA to join with me in fervent prayer for François as he undertakes this demanding challenge. He remains an SMA, though his primary duty will be to the diocese of Dassa-Zoume. I assure François of the support of the SMA in his new role. May the Lord bless him in every way, and may this new ministry be personally fulfilling as well as being a point of departure for the continuing evangelisation of this part of West Africa. Fachtna O Driscoll Superior General SMA Prostration of Bishop François.

3 Episcopal ordination of Fr. François Gnonhossou, the new bishop of Dassa-Zoumé, Benin, on March 28, 2015 The Nuncio of Togo and Benin, Bishop Brian Udaigwe, was the primary consecrator. The co-consecrators were Bishop Antoine Ganye, the first bishop of Dassa-Zoumé and the current Archbishop of Cotonou, and Bishop Michel Cartatéguy, the Archbishop emeritus of Niamey, Niger. There were 11 bishops around the Nuncio, two of whom came from Niamey, Niger, and one from Aného, Togo. There were more than 281 priests who participated, 47 of whom were SMA priests coming from South Africa, Kenya, Côte d Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, India, Ireland, France and Spain. The presence of Friends of the SMA from Côte d Ivoire, Togo and Bénin was well noted. Our OLA Sisters played a major role in the organization of the celebration, in the welcome and in the reception. Here are some pictures of the ceremony. The smile of Bishop François is the visible sign of his interior peace and of his total trust in the Lord. The Nuncio places the ring on Bishop François finger. The President of the Republic of Bénin, His Excellency Yayi Boni Thomas, congratulates the newly elected.

4 The King of Dassa- Zoumé, His Majesty King Egbakotan II congratulates the newly elected. Palm Sunday, March 29, already surrounded by family and friends. On the same March 29, Bishop François surrounded by SMA fathers. On the same March 29, Bishop François surrounded by the Sisters of St. Augustin.

5 THE CAUSE OF OUR FOUNDER On February 2, 2015, I delivered the Positio on the life, the virtues and the fame of the holiness of the Servant of God, Bishop Melchior de Marion Brésillac, to the Congregation of the Causes of Saints. It consists of two volumes for a total of 1200 pages. The first volume includes: - The General Introduction with the relationship of rapporteur, the history of the Cause and his interest in the Church and the mission of today. - Information on the practice of the virtues of the Servant of God in light of his response to the missionary vocation. - The Summary with testimonials about the Servant of God and a collection of his writings, with particular attention to spiritual texts. The second volume presents: - The documented biography (20 chapters with 1745 supporting notes). - The Documents of the Diocesan Process. - The iconography with a dozen photos. - The index of names (around 440). This Positio will be reviewed this year by a group of historical consultants: their response, with any corrections and/or historical additions, will be added to the final edition of the document, which will then be reviewed by theological consultants. The latter will need to decide on the quality of the virtues of our Servant of God. If their opinion is positive, the Pope will issue the decree on the heroic virtues (this is the technical term) of Bishop de Brésillac, which we could call venerable. If during or after this time of waiting we have an extraordinary grace recognized, or in the process of being recognized, as a miracle, the route to beatification will be open. I invite, therefore, our confreres, friends and benefactors to commit to this promotion, regularly and constantly, especially in parishes, schools and hospitals. The intercessory prayer for spiritual and material needs is very important. In Evangelii Gaudium Pope Francis tells us, The great men and women of God were great intercessors. Intercession is like the yeast at the heart of the Trinity. It is a way of penetrating the heart of the Father and to discover there new dimensions which shed light on concrete situations and changes them. (EG 283) P. Bruno Semplicio Postulateur

6 Reflections on Our Mission Having completed almost two years in office, I think this is an opportune time to share with members and lay associates some reflections on SMA mission today from the perspective of the Superior General and the General Council. There has never been a time in the history of the Society when the needs of mission were not great. Our own time is no different. Each epoch presents a new reality. My visits to Regions in Africa and Provinces and Districts in Europe and North America have confirmed for me that the bulk of our membership is committed as ever to God s mission as entrusted to the SMA. Vibrant Christian communities and committed pastors and lay associates give us great hope for the future, while difficult challenges call us to redouble our efforts to meet them. The General Council has been trying to grapple with the following realities during the past two years: A diminishment in personnel and vibrancy in the older Units due to the ageing process and death of members. We have sought to address this reality by encouraging greater levels of collaboration between older and newer Units and by mediating and facilitating as best we can this collaboration. We have encouraged older Units to explore new avenues for mission within Europe/North America, examining how such a mission could be a joint venture of members from the older and newer Units. While it is far too soon to speak of revival, there are genuine reasons for hope. The call to be present in Dioceses in Africa has increased rather than decreased. Our personnel resources are simply not sufficient at present to meet all the requests coming in. We have sought to priorities those areas where we judge the mission need to be greatest and have tried to match personnel to the designated areas. We have sought also to bolster those Regions that seem to be most fragile and we are in process of matching personnel to the perceived neediest places. District-in-formation leaders have responded very positively in this regard. The decline in the number of members from the older Units has meant a noticeable shortage of experienced missionaries to whom newly ordained or lay associates can be sent for supervised training. Many members from the newer Units have been acting as mentors to the young and have carried out their roles with much zeal and effect. Nevertheless, lack of experienced role models is an ongoing issue and is likely to be so for some years to come. The passing of the old guard has meant that almost no ordained member is in a specialised mission placement outside the normal roles of parish ministry, teaching or formation. Missionary outreaches such as Hope for Life, Atelier St Joseph etc are no longer served by SMA members as their primary mission placement. We see this as a diminishment for our mission, and the General Council is striving to promote these alternative mission realities, what might be termed as areas of mission from the margins, as valid missions to be pursued by members and associates. Formation presents difficulties as well as joys. Our students discerning their vocation to missionary priesthood give much energy and reason for hope in our mission. But the difficulties are equally great: financing all aspects of formation continues to be challenging. The formation budget, paid through the generosity of Provinces and Districts many of them themselves struggling to meet their payments can scarcely reach two thirds of the annual requirements. Great efforts are made locally to supplement. Regions will begin this coming year to meet 25% of tuition costs for philosophy students. This can have consequences for mission. The General Council is aware that care needs to be taken that focus on fund-raising in Regions does not supplant the proper focus on the mission itself. This issue will be monitored throughout the mandate. A knock-on effect of the necessity to devote significant resources in terms of personnel to the area of formation is the need to replace members on the formation house staff on a regular and on-going basis. This may at times necessitate the withdrawal of members from mission assignments after a

7 relatively short mission experience. It may sometimes require the withdrawal of members who would otherwise be good mentors to our young on mission. The General Council does not see this as being ideal and strives to evaluate contesting needs; however, the reality is that our formation houses require dedicated missionaries who have a passion for mission, and their withdrawal from a primary mission site is regretfully sometimes necessary. Having addressed the points above, two further reflections are pertinent. 1. Places of mission: it is critical that we seek and choose places of mission according to our charism. Our charism is very well described in the Action Plan on Mission of GA13. There can be a temptation to seek missions where the primary purpose of the mission is other than following through on our missionary charism, such as financial support to the Region or Unit, traditional ties with the Diocese etc. While these motives are not in themselves bad, unless the mission carried out in such a setting is in line with what is described in GA13, then such a mission depletes badly needed personnel resources and can sap energy from the whole mission task. The General Council regularly calls attention to this vital aspect of our mission, in fulfilment of its function to provide dynamic animation for the Society, giving inspiration to its members and to its missionary life and work. [C&L, 78 1] 2. Responding to the call to mission: this two year experience has led me to seriously wonder if we are approaching a crisis in this area. It is an area in which every member ought to do an examination of conscience. A number, noticeably growing, seem to struggle with living their missionary vocation in obedience to their superiors. Each of us took an oath of membership when joining the Society. This oath clearly states I shall accept the tasks entrusted to me by my superiors. [C&L 37 2]. Sad to say, the number of members who struggle with this acceptance is deeply troubling. Of course leaders or superiors are not perfect; none of us makes the right call on every occasion. We may not all be experts in dialogue; but from my two year experience I can truthfully say that the superiors in our Society do their upmost to engage members in genuine dialogue before proposing an assignment to them. Superiors deserve respect. No superior acts unilaterally, but works in a team where decisions are taken by consensus where at all possible. There comes a time when dialogue should cease and the assignment be taken up. In most cases a number of alternative assignments are offered, yet the individual continues to struggle with acceptance. This hints that the problem resides in the person rather than the assignment. Many feel they have an aptitude in a certain area and wonder why the superiors fail to see this. A good example here is that of further studies. Some believe it is the right of every member to be assigned to further studies, even in the discipline chosen by the member. But further studies is not an end in itself. The purpose of further studies is to meet specialised needs for the mission. Not everyone is called to such specialisation nor does the Society require all members to be specialists in a particular field. But the Society does require all members to be specialists in their passion for mission, and to respond to the call where the Society deems the need to be greatest. I challenge all members to renew their passion for mission. It is a challenge in a special way to those who struggle to accept the tasks given by their superiors, to look again at the oath they took on becoming members. I leave you to reflect on the opening statement of our Constitutions and Laws: We are a community of Christ s disciples, bonded together by our common response to his command to proclaim the Kingdom of God: Go out to the whole world; proclaim the Good News to all creation. Fachtna O Driscoll SMA Superior General Rome, April 2015

8 Plenary Council Meeting from June 2 to 11, 2015, in Chaponost The Superiors of the various entities and three Regional delegates from the Districts-in-Formation in Africa will meet for ten days of work. This meeting falls under the normal framework of our Constitutions and Laws. SMA Priestly Ordinations in 2015 We are pleased to announce that there will be priestly ordinations in various entities of the SMA in It is expected that there will be 27 ordinations. The first will take place in the Philippines District-in-Formation. In our next edition, we will give you the list of names and countries of mission to which they will be sent. Wilmer Siriban Cacao, Philippines Cristopher Aramata Lumagbas, Philippines Lambert Meurders (Dutch District) from the diocese of Roermond, died in Nuth on November 21st, 2014, at the age of 86. John Casey (Irish Province) from the diocese of Cork & Ross, died in Cork on March 2nd, 2015, at the age of 84. Francesco Amolfo (Italian Province) from the diocese of Cuneo, died in Abidjan on March 6th, 2015, at the age of 69. Johannes Theodorus Wagemakers (Dutch District) from the diocese of Rotterdam, died in Cadier en Keer on March 16th, 2015, at the age of 98. Deceased Honorary Member Jean-Paul Grasser (Strasbourg District) from the diocese of Strasbourg, died in Haguenau on November 11th, 2014, at the age of 76. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy! Psalm 16:11