The Consolata Missionaries in Ivory Coast are having their Annual Assembly from 22nd January until 29th January 2024 in San Pedro.
This is an extraordinary encounter of these eleven Missionaries from six different nationalities (Italy, Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania and Argentina), working in three different dioceses across Ivory Coast (Odienne diocese, San Pedro diocese and the Archdiocese of Abidjan), to make ways for their forthcoming Fifth Conference.
In the Consolata Missionary Institute’s tradition, just after the General Chapter, an every six year meeting of delegates to update the charism in a designated place, each group, delegation or region sits to actualize the fruits of the General Chapter according to their context. This is what they call, Conference.
Since its humble beginnings 28 years ago, the delegation of the Consolata Missionaries in Ivory Coast is having their fifth Conference this coming month of April 2024.
This year’s Assembly begun with a recollection animated by Fr. John Baptist Okaro, IMC Rector and a member of the Delegation Council.
In his exhortation entitled “All for the Gospel”, scripturally inspired from the First letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians, Chapter 9 verses 16 to 23, Fr. Okaro, dwelt on three major points.
Primo, he outlined what “All for the Gospel” meant for him.
“All for the Gospel” is a five faced reality. First, it means to leave oneself be guided by the Holy Spirit just as the Apostle Philip did, Acts of the Apostle 8: 26-40.
Second is to have Christ in the center of one’s life. Third is to move out and encounter the other. Fourth is the three aspects of Ad Gentes (that is Ad Pauperes -to the poor; Ad vitam -for life and Ad Extra -to the extremities of the land). Finally, the Fifth is the holiness of life.
He further requested all the members to find personal or individual meaning to these significant words of St Paul.
Secundo, he underlined some contemporary challenges one would face in living the Gospel as a religious and above all as a missionary. These include individualism, favoritism, lack of creativity or comfort with the status quo, Syndrome of Jonas, closed within failures or achievements, among others.
Tertio, he went ahead to give some orientations or way forward despite the challenges in responding to this noble vocation. Two of them came out clear. First, one should have a memory or history of his first encounter with Christ, the roots of his missionary calling. Second, one should nurture the spirit of going elsewhere, move towards other unknown realities of life.
After a day of spiritual recollection and the evaluation of the Continental Conference held in Bunju, Tanzania from 4th December until 9th December 2023, by Fr Matteo Pettinari, IMC, the missionaries, guided by the Preparatory Commission, embarked on a heavy mental work of presenting and analyzing the Acts of the 14th General Chapter, which was held in Rome in the months of May and June 2023. This was then followed by the evaluation of the Acts of the 4thConference held in San Pedro from 16th to 20th April 2018.
By Fr Boniface Oohieng Mtanda
