Reflecting on the Centenary of Saint Joseph Allamano, Founder of the Consolata Missionaries
By Tariku Zeleke *
St. Joseph Allamano (1851-1926) never traveled to Africa, yet his heart lived there. His missionary dream began not through travel, but through deep prayer and love for Christ. From the sanctuary of the Consolata Shrine in Turin, he envisioned a family that would “make Jesus Christ known and loved” among peoples who had not yet received the Gospel (This I want you to be).
He reminded missionaries often, “We must be saints first and Missionaries afterward.” For Allamano, holiness and mission were inseparable. The Gospel, he believed, must reach the whole person body, mind, and soul. He urged his missionaries to learn the languages, respect the cultures, and console the sorrows of those they served.
Allamano’s passion for the mission was balanced by wisdom. He united contemplation with action, faith with work, and zeal with prudence. His heart beat with the love of Christ, who “had compassion for the crowds because they were like sheep without a shepherd” (Mark 6:34). A
125 years later: mission ad extra and ad intra
A century and a quarter later, the missionary call remains. The ad gentes mission still sends us outward to the world’s peripheries. But Allamano’s spirituality also calls for ad intra renewal, conversion of the heart and community life.
Pope Francis teaches that “mission is a passion for Jesus and at the same time a passion for his people” (Evangelii Gaudium, 268). Mission today is not only geographical; it is personal and communal. Every Consolata missionary, whether in Nairobi or Turin, the Amazon or Addis Ababa, is called to carry the same Consolation of God into every encounter.
Allamano warned that missionary work without holiness becomes activism. The world today needs missionaries who radiate peace and compassion, men and women who console not only with words but with presence.
Rekindling the zeal of the Founder
Allamano’s heart burned with zeal for souls. “If we could love souls as Jesus loved them, we would be saints already,” he said. This fire must not fade with the passing of time. The celebration of 125 years is not a museum visit; it is a call to movement, to renewal, to mission once again.
When he sent his first missionaries to Africa in 1902, he told them, “You go, I stay, but my heart goes with you.” That same missionary heart continues to beat through the Consolata family today. Are we still missionaries who dream, who risk, who go beyond what is comfortable?
At the foundation of the Consolata charism lies the Gospel mandate: “As the Father has sent me, so I send you” (John 20:21). Mission is not a task for a few; it is the identity of every baptized Christian.
Allamano taught his sons and daughters to walk with Mary, the Consolata, as their model and mother. Mary is our first Superior, our Model, and our Consoler. She teaches us humility, silence, and fidelity, all essential traits of a true missionary.
Pope Francis echoes this spirit when he says, “Mission is born from a heart that burns with love for Jesus. You cannot proclaim Jesus without loving him” (Message for World Mission Sunday 2023). Mission begins not with activity but with love.
Then what?
The centenary question: Then what? remains open. What will the next 125 years of Consolata mission look like?
To honor the Founder is not only to remember his story but to live his dream. The world still cries for Consolation, for faith, for peace. The future of our mission depends not on numbers but on the quality of our witness.
Allamano’s wisdom still guides us: Let us do good, let us do it well, and let us do it for love. The next century of Consolata mission will be written by those who, like him, love deeply, pray faithfully, and serve humbly.
* Deacon Tariku Zeleke, IMC, Allamano House in Nairobi, Kenya.
