EDITORIAL

THE BICENTENARY OF OUR FOUNDER'S BIRTH,  CARDINAL CHARLES LAVIGERIE

This year, the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Afrika (MSOLA) and the Missionaries of Africa (M.Afr) are celebrating the bicentenary of the birth of their founder, Cardinal Charles Lavigerie.

For the Cardinal’s spiritual sons and daughters, the celebration of the bicentenary of the birth of their founding father is an opportunity to present him to the world as a model missionary disciple of Jesus Christ for the African world.

Lavigerie was Archbishop of Algiers from 1867 to 1892 and appointed Archbishop of Carthage and Primate of Africa in 1884. From 1888 to 1890, he was the Pope’s delegate for the Catholic Church’s campaign against African slavery.

Lavigerie died in Algiers. He was buried in the Basilica of Carthage on 8 December 1892. His remains were transported to Rome in 1964.

In this edition of the Letter to Friends, you will read the testimonies of our confreres in Toronto. Forming a community of four confreres from very different backgrounds. They are inspired by the vision and spirituality of Cardinal Lavigerie.

Similarly, the report on our work in Ethiopia, generously supported by your donations, clearly illustrates the primary vocation of our missionary society among Africans.

Future editions of the magazine will focus on the exceptional legacy of our founder.