Project 82 Library in Tizi-Ouzou, Algeria

December 27, 2025, marked the 31st anniversary of the tragic death of our four White Father confreres in Tizi-Ouzou. Since December 8, 2018, they have been canonized as blessed in our Church in Algeria. To commemorate this event, their friends and former students of the Fathers gather for a day in their honor. They feel great pride and gratitude for the education they received.

We wish to highlight the location where our brothers met their tragic end. It currently houses the parish church, our university library, a large green space to be developed and beautified, and our home. The goal is to transform this place into a pilgrimage site for our blessed brothers. T he youngest of the four, Father Christian Chessel, dreamed, along with his colleagues, of providing a library and reading room for the city’s young students. That dream became a reality twenty years ago. Of course, the context has changed a lot, but the reading room is still very popular, thanks to its calm, studious atmosphere and high-performance Internet network. In addition to students, there is an opportunity to reach out to new retirees, who are former students of the fathers and have a great desire to learn and read good books. T he Kabyle region is home to many talented historians and novelists. Algeria has a number of high-quality publishing houses. Literary production is abundant. We therefore wish to expand our collection to include recently published works from Algeria and other French- and English-speaking countries that will captivate our readers, while ensuring a comfortable environment and reliable internet connection. As the community of Missionaries of Africa in Tizi-Ouzou, we turn to you to ask for your spiritual and financial support. United in prayer! Many thanks!

Father Claude Venne, M.Afr, Father Lucien Somé, M.Afr  and Father Alain Mugisho, M.Afr