THE CLOSING SPEECH FROM THE PROVINCIAL 

Dear Brothers,

Fr. YVES
The Provincial Superior

As we conclude our vice-provincial chapter, I wish to thank you wholeheartedly. I thank the preparatory commission, and all those who made their contributions to this chapter. My gratitude goes to Father José Miguel Diaz for his availability to represent Our Superior General.  Dear brothers you have given generously of your time and your best thinking to make our dream a reality. We are privileged to witness the 1^st of the vice-province 31 years since the creation of the Assumption mission in East Africa. We should keep in mind in a special way our first missionaries, Richard Brunelle, James Pepka and their companions and all those who have been in charge of this mission Fr. Richard Brunelle, Protais Kabila, Simon Njuguna, Jean Marie Meso and their respective teams.   

 Together for a whole week, we listened to the Holy Spirit in order to foresee the future of the mission of this vice-province.  For our liturgy, the gospel according to Saint John chap. 14 -15 has been at the centre of our meditations.  “Love” and “unity” have been the key words. The liturgy of the Word helped me understand that “where there is love and unity there is Jesus Christ, and where Jesus is there will be joy and availability for mission (whether this mission is located in town or in rural zone).

This chapter has been truly a privileged place of reflection, sharing and dialogue. We tried to find ways and means to be truly Witnesses and agents of unity in a divided world.   We have taken the first steps accepting the risk for a future filled with promise. We hope that the enthusiasm with which you have celebrated this chapter will be contagious.

What we have been able to experience together in this chapter have helped us to become aware of the mission that Father d’Alzon entrusted to us: To live and work in loving communion so that the world will believe that Jesus is the source of Unity.

As you have realised in the first part of the chapter, the challenges are many and at different levels: community life, spiritual and pastoral life and financial resources. At the individual level, the gap between what we say and what we live is also challenging.  What I have heard in this assembly since the first day of our chapter reveals me that you want to face the different challenges confident in the love God the Father for our Congregation. I am convinced that human and financial resources are not an absolute criterion for growth. Unless there is a solid spiritual life, a sense of belonging and greater commitment at personal and community level our vice-province cannot grow fast and stronger.

Dear brothers, you need to assure that in the months ahead this investment is put to work and developed. You will need to start afresh from Christ, to use our imagination, to accept making change in your life style and find new ways of being present at the heart of humanity and bear witness to the present of God’s Kingdom. As you have main actors in the preparation and the elaboration of the acts of this first chapter, I want you dear brothers, to be at the front line of its implementation. You know the letter and the spirit of the text that soon will be at your disposal; in your communities help your fellow brothers understand it, not only by your words but also by your own life.

My wish, at the end of this chapter, is that in the nearly future we may gather together to celebrate not a second, a third vice-provincial chapter but a provincial chapter and my task/mission as provincial and of my council is to help you reach that stage. If we work hand in hand respecting the principle of subsidiarity I am confident that we can make it. Now to express our gratitude to God I invite you to join me in this song: “ This is the day….”.

Thank you and may God Bless you.

Arusha, May 25th, 2019

Fr Yves NZUVA KAGHOMA

Sup. Provincial