Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Abidjan (Agenzia Fides) - "The International Secretariat of the Pontifical Missionary Union (PUM), within the Pontifical Mission Societies, has launched paths of collaboration with the Episcopal Conferences, on the one hand, and with university centers on the other, in different countries of the world. This is why PUM has entrusted to a body of professors of the Catholic University of West Africa/University Unit of Abidjan (UCAO/UUA), of the Catholic Missionary Institute of Abidjan (ICMA) and the Institute of Theology of the Jesuit company (ITCJ), the task of setting up an ad hoc structure for missiological formation", explained Fr. Gaston Ogui, on Sunday 25 October, during the Mass for the launch of the activities of the "Missiological Formation Space" of Ivory Coast.
The event was held in the parish of Notre Dame de la Tendresse de la Riviera Golf, in the Archdiocese of Abidjan, chaired by the Apostolic Nuncio in Ivory Coast, His Exc. Mgr. Paolo Borgia.
Fr. Gaston Ogui, who is the national coordinator of the "Missiological Formation Space", indicated that this structure rapidly took shape in the country whose main objective is "to decentralize the activities of the Pontifical Missionary Union in order to strengthen the faith and Catholic Christian identity among the faithful of Christ".
"It was a largely positive experience which resulted in the formation of a hundred convinced and convincing missionaries", he said referring to the first experience of formation.
Fr. Ogui concluded his speech by thanking the Apostolic Nuncio for his encouraging presence at the Eucharist for the official start of the activities for the academic year 2020-2021 of the Missiological Formation Space of Ivory Coast.
"This presence first of all signifies for us the constant concern of the universal Church towards the particular Churches, it also means that the catholicity of the Church is first of all at the service of the particular Churches, and finally it means that Christian identity is missionary here as elsewhere", underlined Fr. Ogui.
Created in 2017, the Missiological Formation Space is open to Bishops, priests, men and women religious and laity engaged in the field of evangelization. The formation takes place according to three options for an academic duration of three semesters, at the rate of one module per semester and a compulsory internship of about one semester for lay students within their parish or community. At the end of the course, a Missiology training certificate is issued by the UCAO/UUA to the student who has validated all his credits. (S.S.) (Agenzia Fides, 27/10/2020)
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