Silver Jubilee of the Brésillac Centre · Salem, Tamil Nadu, India in September 1980, the 2nd of...

No.22 l Autumn/Winter 2013

Society of African Missions (SMA)Blackrock Road, Cork, Ireland • Tel: 021 429 2871 • Email: [email protected] • www.sma.ie

Registered Charity numbers: CHY 4696 (Republic) XR 1207 (Northern Ireland)

The SMA has more than 250 priests from 11 Africancountries. During their training all have spent ninemonths undertaking a Spiritual programme at the SMAInternational Spiritual Year (Brésillac) Centre at Calavi inthe Benin Republic. The ISY experience has a profoundeffect on each seminarian and it gives them a ‘missionaryspirit’ which will help them live out their lives as SMAmissionaries in the future. The present Superior, Fr BasilSoyoye, describes the class who have just completed theirSpiritual Year at Calavi.

25 years2013 is the 25th anniversary of the Brésillac Centre. The firsttwelve seminarians began their programme in September 1987.Coming from several African countries, Europe and India theywere welcomed by three SMA Fathers: Georges Fonteneau

(French), Giacomo Ubbiali (Italian) and Michael O’Shea (CorkCity). Since then, Calavi has welcomed more than 300seminarians preparing to take their First Oath of membership inthe SMA, leading eventually to their making a life commitmentas an SMA after completing their Stage and Theology studies.Today, Calavi ‘graduates’ are to be found at all levels of theSociety – in the General administration in Rome as well as onthe different Councils throughout the SMA. Two of them havebeen chosen to serve as bishops in the Central African Republic.

A new yearThe 2012 – 2013 academic year began with 22 seminarians:one each from Benin, Kenya, Poland and Tanzania; two eachfrom DR Congo, India and Togo. The Central African Republic,Ivory Coast and Nigeria had four students each. The five staffmembers who welcomed them reflected the changing face of

Silver Jubilee of the Brésillac Centre

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the Society: Frs Basil Soyoye(from Nigeria) and JamesShimbala (Tanzania) are formerCalavi students. We are joined byFr Raja Lourdusamy (India), PierreGarreau (France) and WilfriedvanKouijzer (Netherlands).

Calavi programmeIt is a three dimensional programme: prayer (the heart ofthe Spiritual Year experience), studies and manual work(planting and harvesting food etc). In class the seminarianslearn about the charism of the Society through studying ourSMA history and documents from the time of BishopdeBrésillac (Founder) and our different meetings since then.Students are also required to study the second language ofthe Society so that all are fluent in both English and French.Human development is also part of their formation, to helpthem develop their particular talents. Sport is also anessential part of their weekly timetable as well as ‘weekendservice’ in the many outstations of Calavi parish.

The richness of internationalityA noteworthy characteristic of the ISY is the openness toother cultures. We are 27 men from twelve differentcountries, each with a rich culture to share. Our culturaldifferences are seen as a source of enrichment and notdivision. From the start, we work on developing amulticultural life among us so as to counteract the naturalprejudices we may have arrived with from our homecountries. This is greatly appreciated by both seminariansand staff, one of the most enjoyable aspects of their SpiritualYear. International living helps them discover the differentcultures we share. It helps prepare them for their mission ina continent where, far too often, cultural differences are asource of conflict and war.

Thanks to SMA Sponsors and supportersCalavi Centre could not exist without the spiritual andpractical support of thousands of people over the last 25years. All over Ireland, sponsors in the SMA Family VocationsCrusade (FVC) and other individual supporters contributeeach year to ‘training SMA priests’. I am the fruit of thatsupport as are all our African priests and those from India,Philippines and Poland. On their behalf I say a sincere Esepupo, e ku se Oluwa (Thank you, well done for doing God’swork). Each day we pray, both morning and evening, for allour supporters. May God bless you and all your families.

Fr Tony Gill was reared in the shadow of Croke Park. The thousands whoattend matches there pass by the door of the family pub! As an SMA priesthe has served in Argentina, Zambia, Ireland and Tanzania.

After ordination in 1965, Fr Tony, along with three other Irish SMA priests,was appointed to Cosquin in north central Argentina, where there was ahuge shortage of priests. His first Good Friday in Cosquin was celebratedwith 10,000 people processing through the city! The fact that 10% of thepeople owned 95% of the wealth was a scandal to the missionaries. In1970 Fr Tony moved to La Rioja diocese which had made an option for thepoor. Because of this the Church (laity and religious) suffered much at thattime: parish houses and convents were ransacked, priests and lay peopleimprisoned and there was a constant campaign of calumny against BishopEnrique Angelelli, who was eventually martyred for his work with the poor.Fr Tony well remembers the words Bishop Enrique said to him when theyfirst met: “Keep one ear to the Gospel and one ear to the poor. Listento the cry of the poor and respond to it in the light of the Gospel.”Are they not similar to the words of our present Pope Francis who in 2005visited the grave of the late bishop to honour his memory? Fr Tony’s workwith an Association of Priests lobbying for Social Justice landed him in jailfor a period.

After ten years in Argentina, Fr Tony transferred to Ndola diocese in Zambiawhere he worked in the large urban parish of Chimwemwe in Kitwe (1977-1980).

Noted for his thirst for justice, Fr Tony returned to Ireland and launched theSMA Justice Office, getting involved in many campaigns including the anti-apartheid movement and Solidarity with El Salvador.

At the same time he was the Editor of the African Missionary magazineand Calendar. In 1987, following several requests to return to Africa, hewas assigned to Tanzania.

Fr Tony was appointed to Kilulu parish in Shinyanga diocese. There, withlocal help, he built a bridge so that dozens of villages under his care wouldno longer be cut off in the wet season. Villagers trying to walk across theriver often got swept away and drowned. To combat the effects ofdeforestation in the area Fr Tony undertook a tree-planting programme inthe parish. This has helped raise awareness among the people that theyshould not just cut down the trees for firewood etc. but should also plantfor the future.

When more than one million Rwandan refugees established the largestRefugee Camp in the world at Benaco Camp in Tanzania, the Irish SMAimmediately redeployed two of our priests to care for them, Fr Tony and FrFionbarra O’Cuilleanáin.

After he completed his work in Benaco, he joined a four-man internationalSMA team to work in Masumbwe parish, a large area in the north-east of

The varied life ofa missionary

(Continued from from page)

Contact the nearest SMA House(see back page) for information onhelping to train our seminarians.


The bridge under construction

Tanzania, in Kahama diocese. They came fromIreland, Benin Republic, Philippines andPoland and had the care of 52 outstations(villages). Despite the fact that there are veryfew Christians in the area, the people builttwo houses for the SMA priests (at differentends of the parish). Among the priorities theyset, in consultation with the local community,was to train catechists (who would teachCatechism classes for those who wereinterested in being baptised, of which manywere adults), courses to empower women inthe community, provide a clean source ofwater (well-digging). Courses are run in sevencentres of the parish.

The Wasumbwa people are traditionallyhunters, harvesting honey and felling trees fortheir living. One of the projects Fr Tony startedthere, as the result of discussions betweenhimself, leaders of other Christiandenominations and the local Muslim Imam,was Masumbwe Children’s Residence. Manychildren had lost their parents due to differentillnesses, including HIV/AIDS and were nowliving on the streets. They needed properaccommodation and schooling. And so theResidence opened in 2007 with ten childrenand Mrs Sabina Joseph as Matron. It is close tothe local Primary school where the childrenbegin their schooling. Today there are 30children / teenagers living there.

The Local Government Council refer childrento the Home which is run by amultidenominational committee with aTanzanian Nurse as the Chairperson.

Fr Tony is now in his fourth parish: Holy Family,Pasiansi in Mwanza Town, on the shore ofLake Victoria. Along with Fr Jean-Baptiste

Vodounkpé SMA they care for 3,000 Catholicsin three Mass centres. Pasiansi is one of 20parishes in Mwanza and is the headquartersof the diocese, which has a total of 40parishes, staffed mainly by local diocesanpriests.

One of the projects Fr Tony is now involved inis with the Upendo (love) community. It is anecumenical group of women and men, all HIVpositive, who have come together to offermutual support. At present there are 50 inUpendo and they meet regularly to learn moreabout different health issues and to encouragethose who might be experiencing difficultieswith keeping to the regime of food andmedicine assigned for them by the local healthauthority. Fr Tony has helped each one to setup an income generating business (selling fishcaught in the Lake; cooking small pasties tosell...). The money they make helps them

supplement their diet with vitamins. If anyonemisses the weekly meeting some of the groupwill visit them to see if there are problems forthat person. It is truly ‘love in action’.

So even though, nearly 50 years later, he maymiss the roar from neighbouring Croke Park,Fr Tony is a very happy African missionary inthe heart of Africa.

Speaking to Fr Tony about his early time as aseminarian he spoke of the SMA Mission Circles –groups of Dubliners who supported the work of theSMA. There were eleven groups at the time, comingfrom all parts of the city, and they organised JumbleSales, Tombolas etc to help the work of SMAmissionaries. “Their prayers and sacrifices kept usgoing.”

They were the forerunners of our present FamilyVocations Crusade (FVC) network. For informationon FVC contact your local SMA House (contactdetails on back page).

Upendo community enjoy a picnic on the shore of Lake Victoria


Fr Dominic Maria Anthuvan was born inSalem, Tamil Nadu, India in September 1980,the 2nd of three children. Even though Indiastill has a great need for priests, Fr Dominicwanted to be a missionary because he wasmoved by what he knew of the SMA and healways wanted to become one. A cousin, FrFrancis Rozario, was already an SMA priestand this too had its influence on him (FrRozario is now a member of the SMAGeneral Council in Rome). For the youngDominic, Africa has a greater need ofmissionaries and it was a matter of “it’s nowor never.” He joined the SMA in 1998 doinghis Philosophy studies in India, followed byan International Spiritual Year programme inthe Philippines. He became an SMA memberin June 1998 and was then sent to Nigeriafor his pastoral training. Fr Dominiccompleted his theological studies in Nairobi,Kenya. He was ordained a priest on 8 August2009, one of 5 Indian SMA priests ordainedthat year. After ordination Fr Dominic wasappointed to Kontagora Vicariate, Nigeria.

He spent some months learning the Hausalanguage with Fr John O'Keeffe after whichhe went to Shafaci parish, where Fr DonallO’Cathain (from Cork City) was the ParishPriest, caring for 128 outstation villages.There are no tarred roads in the area and thepriests use motorbikes or a 4x4 pickup toreach some outstations, some as far away asone and a half hours driving (i.e. about50kms). They measure how long it takes toget somewhere by time rather than thelength of the road. All roads in the area arelaterite.

Kontagora Vicariate covers 46,000 sq kmswith an estimated population of 1.6 milliondrawn mainly from seven distinct ethnicgroups. Though the Kamberi are the

traditional people of the area the Hausa-Fulani people have political and economiccontrol. The first SMA missionaries came tothe area in 1937 settling first at Masugu andZuru.

Kontagora was created in 1995 fromneighbouring dioceses, with Millstreet-bornFr Tim Carroll SMA as the Prefect Apostolic.He was succeeded as bishop by the firstKamberi priest, Bishop Bulus Yohanna.

There are fourteen parishes with hundredsof outstations in the Vicariate. To care for thisvast area there are 9 SMA priests (fromIreland, India and Africa) as well as twelvediocesan priests. Two more are due forordination by the end of 2013.

There are seven convents, six CatholicNursery / Primary schools and three Catholicsecondary schools. OLA Sisters also ministerin the Vicariate looking after Primary HealthCare needs in Kwimo, Papiri, Shafaci andPissa. Conscious that the best evangelizationis from within, a great deal of attention isdevoted to providing Adult Literacyprogrammes and training Lay Leaders. Thereis a Training Centre at Masuga for LayLeaders and Catechists. A numberof priests have 'well-digging'teams to go around the villages toprovide clean water for thepeople.

Earlier this year Fr Dominicsucceeded Fr O’Catháin as ParishPriest. Sharing the work with himnow is another Indian SMA, FrMaria Valan. Fr O’Catháin hasmoved further west to establish anew parish at Pissa (with 66outstations culled from Shafaci

together with 14 from the neighbouringparish of Guffanti), closer to the border withthe Benin Republic.

All three priests are heavily involved in thenormal parish ministry (celebratingsacraments, teaching catechism etc) as wellas training Catechists / Service Leaders (localvillagers, women and men, who preparechildren and adults for sacraments as wellas lead the Sunday Prayer Service). Two ofthe pastoral priorities in Kontagora are theprovision of clean water and the Dry SeasonLiteracy programme. Shafaci has beeninvolved in both since its establishment in2001. There is a Healthcare clinic run by theOLA Sisters once a week on market day, withanother clinic at Pissa also on market day.

Youth Ministry is another ministry that thepriests are greatly involved in because ourchurches are full of youths, children andwomen. Courses and seminars are held indifferent parts of the parish to address issuesidentified by the people: human rights,health education, empowerment of womenthrough literacy, environmental awarenessand justice and peace are some of the topicsaddressed at these gatherings.

An Indian missionary in Nigeria

Fr Donall O'Catháin and villagers at their new well.


The history of the SMA in Egypt began in November 1877 with the arrival of two French SMA priests,Fathers Duret and Le Gallen, to work in Cairo. From the earliest years the Society and the OLA sistershave engaged in various ministries, particularly in the education and health field, founding severalschools and parishes in the Cairo area and along the Nile Delta.

One of these parishes is now the Cathedral of St. Mark in Choubra, Cairo which was opened in 1910.Evangelization was, and still is, very difficult in Egypt. Very few Egyptians converted from the Islamicor other faiths. So most of our parishioners were from traditionally Christian families, either Egyptianor foreigners. This remains the case up to the present.

The education apostolate was a very important part of the SMA / OLA presence in Egypt with theSMA founded St George’s College being one of the most prestigious in the country. Christians fromall denominations attended though most of the students were of the Islamic faith.

In the early years, Choubra also hosted the SMA seminary. Due to the political situation in France inthe late 19th and early 20th century many seminarians were sent there to train for the priesthood.Among them were many Irish candidates for the SMA. The first Irish SMA Superior General, Fr MauriceSlattery (from Abbeydorney, Co Kerry) was ordained there in 1900. Ordinations continued there forseveral years but, by the 1920’s, the seminary was closed and SMA priests were trained in their home

countries.

A reminder of the ‘old days’ was the 2013Ordination of Fr Jean Paul Silué Niénafoungognonfrom the Ivory Coast. Having joined the SMA in2004, he spent his Stage (in-the-field trainingprogramme) in Cairo in 2008 / 2009. In 2012 hereturned here for his pastoral training as a Deaconand on 10 May last he was ordained by Bishop AdelZaki, an Egyptian Franciscan.

The Cathedral was full for the event with lay faithful(from different Rites), Sisters, Brothers and 30concelebrating priests. The local Catholic Scout troop

arranged the tables for the buffet after the ceremony as well as practising their marching steps andtuning up their musical instruments. They led the procession into the Cathedral for the OrdinationMass. The Ladies Committee looked after the decoration of both Cathedral and grounds, withmagnificent floral displays adding to the colourful occasion. Our 4 SMA seminarians had preparedthe liturgy, under the guidance of Egyptian SMA Fr Farid Ibrahim. For most of the congregation thiswas the first time they had participated in a priestlyordination of the Latin Rite.

Pride of place at the ceremony, apart from Fr Jean Paul,was reserved for his elder brother, Koné Douyéri whohad travelled from his home in the Ivory Coastaccompanied by his wife, Koné Assomption.

After the Ordination all gathered in the churchcompound for a buffet meal and drinks. It was a fittingend to a wonderful day. Fr Jean Paul is now an SMApriest and will continue to exercise his ministry inEgypt, a country he loves and whose ‘SMA history’ continues with this fresh blood. He will join FrCasimir Kieszek (from Poland) and Fr Robbin Kamemba (Kenya) in Choubra and be involved indifferent services. The Club de Bonheur [i.e. a centre for 50 handicapped young adults] is fundedfrom the parish. We also care for a Senior Citizens Residence as well as a large group of Africans fromsouth of the Sahara who meet each week to pray and seek help with their difficulties. The majorityof the people we serve are non-Catholics but our witness is to the love that God has for all people.

Fr Farid Ibrahim (Egypt) and Msgr Gennaro de Martino (Egyptian/Italian) work at the Notre DameBasilica in Héliopolis.

Despite the turmoil we are experiencing in Egypt at this time, the ordination ceremony was a briefmoment of joy and peace for us all. God grant that this land, which welcomed the Holy Family, maysoon experience peace and justice for all its people.

- from an interview with Fr Robbin Kamemba SMA

In the midst of turmoilsome moments of joy

Changesat the top2013 saw new Leadership teamselected at both the international andIrish levels of the SMA and OLA.

Our photo shows the new SMAGeneral Council with Corkman FrFachtna O’Driscoll (on right) as thenew Superior General. He is assistedby, from left, Fathers AntonioPorcellato (Vicar General), FrancisRozario and Francois Gnonhossou(General Councillors). They will leadthe Society until the next GeneralAssembly in 2019.

Sister Mary T Barron was elected asthe Vicar General for the MissionarySisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA).The OLA Sisters were founded by theSMA Co-Founder, Fr Augustin Planque.Sr Mary was serving on the IrishProvincial Council until her election.The Irish OLA will hold their ProvincialAssembly later this year.


CHRIST’SCALLTo serve...To proclaim...To bring Good News...

AFRICA STILL LONGS FOR GOD’S WORD.WHY NOT JOIN US IN THE LORD’S SERVICE AS AMISSIONARY?

Contact the Vocations Director at any of our SMA Houses below

“TO BE MISSIONARY FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART”- Bishop Melchior de Marion Brésillac, Founder of SMA

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Online DonationsYou can send money, at no extra cost, for our missionary work, Family Vocations Crusade (FVC), MassAssociation Cards etc. through our Donate Online facility through the www.sma.ie homepage.

African Missions (SMA) African Missions (SMA) African Missions (SMA) African Missions (SMA) African Missions (SMA)Blackrock Road Wilton Dromantine Claregalway 81 - 83 Ranelagh RdCork Cork Newry Co Galway Dublin 6021 429 2871 021 454 1069 028 3082 1224 091 798 880 01 496 [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

My soul is longing for your Peace...We commend the following OLA and SMA members and our deceased supporters to your prayers.

- Fr Billy O’Sullivan (Cork City), served in Nigeria, England and Ireland, aged 79 years on 25 March 2013.- Sr Máire O’Driscoll (Ballydehob, Co Cork), a missionary in Ghana for 51 years, aged 77 years on 1 April 2013. - Sr Carmel Cox (Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh), served in Nigeria and Ireland, aged 78 years on 14 April 2013.- Fr Michael Darcy (Drumcorra, Co Cavan), served in Nigeria and Ireland, aged 79 years on 10 May 2013.- Fr Hugh McLaughlin (Cork City), served in Nigeria and Ireland, aged 81 years on 13 May 2013.- Fr Donal M O’Connor (Tralee, Co Kerry), served in Nigeria, Ireland and England, aged 80 years on 31 May 2013.- Sr Nathy Walsh (Oranmore, Co Galway), served for 56 years in different SMA Houses in Ireland, aged 95 years

on 7 July 2013.

Lord God, welcome our deceased SMA supporters, benefactors and missionaries, into the peace of your Kingdom.Reward the good they have done; forgive their faults. May they pray for us and, one day, may we all be reunited in our eternal home. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.


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