The service of formation is an integral part of the mission. The Consolata missionaries arrived in Ivory Coast in 1996 and the group became a Delegation in 2001. The decision to start the basic formation in the country was made during the III Conference in 2012.
By Jaime C. Patias *
The current headquarters of the formation community is the Blessed Irene Stefani Seminary in Abidjan. Since 2016, the community of the Propedeutic and Philosophical has been located here. Since February 2023, this house has also hosted professed students for theology and specializations, in addition to serving missionaries who study the French language.
In this video from the Formators and Formation series, Kenyan Father John Baptist Ominde Odunga, IMC, Delegation Councilor and head of formation in Côte d’Ivoire, introduces his formative community, speaks about participation in the ongoing formation course held in Rome in September 2024, and comments on the event of the Founder’s canonization.
Father John Baptist explains that the community in Abidjan is made up of six students from four nationalities who are committed to studying at the university and carrying out pastoral and religious and missionary formation activities. Three of them were ordained deacons on December 7, 2024.
As for the course for formators held in Rome, what he appreciated most was “the invitation to the formators to take care of themself, to commit to their own formation in order to be able to guide the students to achieve their goal in formation. I also appreciated the invitation to be attentive to the current situation of the world and the situation of consecrated life in order to help those entrusted to us to achieve the goal of formation, to be disciples of Christ, capable of bringing consolation and salvation to the world,” says the missionary.
The canonization of our Founder, an event not only for the Institute but also for the whole Church, according to Father John Baptist, “demonstrates that the spirituality of Joseph Allamano is alive and that this spirituality has marked the lives, and continues to do so, of many people in the four corners of the world. We pray that through this event, his spirituality may continue to inspire and reach the ends of the world where many people still need this message of consolation. May Mary Consolata, our Mother, accompany us and continue to inspire us,” he concludes.
Currently, 16 Consolata missionaries are working in Ivory Coast and the Delegation has Saint Joseph Allamano as its protector.
* Father Jaime C. Patias, IMC, Communications Office in Rome.
