2023-12-24 23:57:02
In the summer of 2023, the congregation of Dominican missionaries of Namur in Belgium merged into the congregation of Dominican missionaries of Africa. The Belgian community, which gave birth to the African community in the 1980s, only had seven sisters left. Sister Clémence Atangayo, prioress general of the Dominican missionary sisters of Africa, explains that this merger is the fruit of a transmission of evangelization and the Dominican charism.
Jean-Benoît Harel – Vatican City
“We call them moms or grandmothers,” smiles Sister Clémence Atangayo, about the Dominican missionaries of Namur. From the motherhouse in Kigali, the prioress general of the Dominican missionary sisters of Africa rejoices at the merger of her community with the sisters of Namur, which she perceives as the completion of a common collaboration.
In 1983, various European Dominican congregations worked in Africa, notably in Rwanda and Burundi. This “Dominican family” decides to found a congregation for Africa, according to the rule of Saint Dominic which focuses on preaching in all its forms. This is the birth certificate of the Dominican missionaries of Africa. “To support the founding of this new community, the sisters of Namur were designated as founders,” explains Sister Clémence. With the program, studies for the missionary apostolate in schools, hospitals, social works.
A gradual transfer of missions
The Belgian sisters trained the young African sisters, structured the community and accompanied them until 2005. Then, the links between the two congregations remained strong: “In the missions, in Rwanda, in the DRC… We were always together to work together. Then, they were too tired and returned to Namur,” says the current prioress general. Little by little, the African sisters are taking over the different missions of their Belgian elders, as Sister Clémence tells us. “In 2010, we settled in the Central African Republic with the mission of taking care of schools, evangelizing the pygmies and taking care of a girls’ home. But now we also have a day school for girls, so we have intensified this mission.
Beyond pastoral missions, the two congregations help each other. In Belgium, African sisters come to study or receive treatment, but also to help the oldest sisters in the Belgian community. In Africa, the Dominican sisters of Namur who can continue their training mission.
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A merger requested by the sisters of Namur
But, in 2018, the Dominicans of Namur called for help, the number of sisters continuing to decrease. To respond to this request, “our sisters went to Belgium to help them live, to support them because they no longer had much strength” explains Sister Clémence Atangayo, of Congolese origin. Then comes the request for merger from the community of Namur.
A surprise for the African nuns who were rather expecting to join the Belgian congregation, founded following Saint Dominic in the 13th century. “When we received the request from our sisters, for us, it was initially surprising. We said: ”you are the trainers and you agree to come to us that you have trained”. Little by little, we thought about it,” testifies the Prioress General. The links forged since 1983 and the same Dominican charism of the two congregations have made it possible to facilitate the merger between the two communities.
For the Belgian sisters, after having transmitted their experience and their mission, blending into the congregation of the Dominican Missionaries of Africa is a continuation of this transmission. As if the mother congregation had come to die in the arms of its daughter. “They became like our mothers because we were trained like their little daughters” says the prioress general of the African community.
After various administrative and canonical hassles, the merger takes place on August 6, 2023, the day of the feast of the Transfiguration. “As if by chance” the Dominican women of Belgium mischievously underline. By a vow of obedience pronounced before Sister Clémence Atangayo, the seven Belgian sisters, aged between 87 and 95, joined the 50 Dominican missionary sisters of Africa, their six novices and three postulants. “It’s a real bath of youth” rejoice the ex-Domicaines missionaries of Namur.
August 6, 2023, during the effective merger of the two Dominican missionary congregations.
From now on, the Belgian house in the Salzines district welcomes two Belgian sisters and three Rwandan sisters, responsible for watching over the sickest Belgian sisters in a rest home. Sister Marie-Pascale, former prioress general, left for Rwanda, as a training promoter in Kigali.
An opening to the whole world
Present in Rwanda, the DRC and the Central African Republic, the Dominican missionaries of Africa are celebrating the 40th anniversary of their congregation this year and are continuing their work of evangelization, with new missionary momentum. “This merger gave us a spirit of openness. Our mission has expanded; it is no longer just for Africa, but for the whole world. This fusion has awakened the missionary spirit in us.
The novices of the Dominican Missionaries of Africa.
The question of transmission for declining communities remains a very hot topic for European congregations. “Many congregations in France have the majority of their members in the South,” notes Sister Véronique Margron, president of the Conference of Religious Men and Women of France (Corref). Many questions arise for these congregations at the end of their tether: “How can we think about the institutional end of our institute? What does fulfillment mean?
The community of Sister Clémence Atangayo provides an example of this accomplishment. With the experience of a successful merger, she encourages communities who are wondering about their future: “I want to tell other congregations who are hesitant that everything is possible with God. We must have the courage to take a step, to dare, to risk, so that the Church also grows.”
Remain faithful to the values of consecrated life, not divide because of political opinions, preach without falling into propagandist or ideological considerations, do not…
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