AFRICA - “We have been present with our African Brothers and Sisters throughout the momentous and significant changes that have taken place on the Continent since the mid 19th century”: interview with Superior General of the Society for African Missions (SMA)

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - This year 2006 the Society for African Missions (SMA) is celebrating the 150th anniversary of its founding by Bishop Melchior de Marion Brésillac. Founded for the evangelisation of the peoples of west Africa the Society contributed greatly to the planting and development of many local Churches. On the occasion of this SMA Jubilee year, 8 December 2005 - 8 December 2006, Fides spoke with Irish born Father Kieran O’Reilly, since May 2001 Superior general of the Society for African Missions.
If you were to present the SMA to someone for the first time what features would you highlight? In what does it differ from other missionary societies and institutes ?
The significant feature that I would like to present to a person with no knowledge of our Society, is that we are a Missionary Society focussed on mission work on the Continent of Africa. We work in solidarity with Africa, in Africa and outside Africa. We are not the only Missionary Institute with such a missionary focus but we have been engaged in this work for 150 years and we believe that we bring a unique perspective to the task. That uniqueness comes from our Founder, Bishop Melchior de Marion Bresillac( 1813-1859), who wished to found a Society of Missionaries dedicated to working among the “most abandoned in Africa”.

The founder of SMA, Bishop de Marion Brésillac, left a considerable amount of writings on the significance of missionary activity…
Our Founder was a Bishop in India - he was the first Bishop of Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, South India. During his time there he wrote extensively, mainly through the form of letters, about his ministry and travels. The Society has just published these letters, the English translation will appear later this year. Because of the length of time he spent in India the greater portion of the letters concern his missionary activity there. Overall, they cover his life from his early days as a young priest in Carcasone, in the South of France, to the final days of his life in Freetown, Sierra Leone. They are a rich legacy and insight into his thought on missionary practice at the time. His total commitment to Mission Ad Gentes is summed up by the witness of his own life, firstly, as a missionary to India, he was a member of the Paris Foreign Mission Society (MEP), followed by his commit to Africa, culminating in his death, at Freetown, in June 1859. His total commitment to what we call Primary Evangelisation and the development of the local Church, in particular, the fostering of indigenous priestly vocations is one of his lasting achievements. As soon as our young missionaries established communities along the coast of West Africa they opened minor and major Seminaries which provided the nucleus of local priests that became the foundation of the Church in West Africa.

Tells us about the geographical origin of SMA missionaries?
Originally, our vocations have come from Europe, such countries as, France, Ireland, The Netherlands. This original recruitment base was expanded to include Italy, Spain, Canada and the United States. However, the vocations’ crisis that has affected the church in these countries has also touched mission institutes. Over the past ten years we have noted a significant drop in candidates coming forward to offer themselves to the missionary priesthood. The Society opened its doors to candidates coming from areas outside the traditional recruiting areas, nearly twenty five years ago. Today, our Society is engaged in a great journey with the Churches, who though us, received the gift of faith. Where we have served as missionaries, over the last one hundred and fifty years, we now invite young men to join us for Mission, to other parts of Africa. We also have members coming from India, Poland, the Philippines, and Argentina and they now live in International missionary communities, in Africa. The greater percentage of our young missionaries, let us say those under 40 years of age, numbering nearly 90% of missionaries under 40 in the Society, now come from these new Units of the Society.

In what sort of contexts and mission fields do you work and what are the main difficulties encountered in the mission to proclaim Christ?
The young missionaries are engaged in many areas of work, in particular, Primary Evangelisation, urban and rural pastoral ministry, in Africa. They are also involved in our formation programmes in Africa. The difficulties that they encounter stem from the great needs that they are asked to address both spiritual and material and the inability very often to satisfy them, in particular, the latter.

Bishop Marion Brésillac founded SMA for the evangelisation of Africa, but today SMA missionaries are also present in various countries of Europe, America and Asia … so you have extended your field of action...
Yes, we are present in the countries you mention but we are there primarily to work in our Churches of origin to recruit missionaries - both clerical and lay, to promote a better understanding of Africa, to engage in the areas of Justice that directly effect Africa and also to build bonds of solidarity with Africa. Over the last thirty years the Society has, through a number of projects, in the certain cities in Europe, reached out to the large African communities present in these cities and organised pastoral programmes for them, in collaboration with the local dioceses.

After a century and a half of missionary activity what fruits have been reaped by SMA and what are its prospects for the future?
The Society has lived side by side with the peoples of Africa over these 150 years. You might say we have been present with our African Brothers and Sisters throughout the momentous and significant changes that have taken place on the Continent since the mid 19th century. We have been able to contribute significantly to the growth of the Church and the development of education, at all levels. Our satisfaction lies in seeing the growth and success of the Local Church in Africa. The fact that, now from Africa, our members serve as missionaries “ad Gentes” is indeed a great blessing and the fruit of the efforts of Mgr de Bresillac and our early missionaries.

What have been the principal initiatives organised for this 150th anniversary and what do you hope these celebrations will bring?
This anniversary has given us an opportunity to look more closely at our Founder our early missionaries, their spirituality and what it means for us today. The anniversary has given us the opportunity to reflect on our Charism and to see how it can be more fully explained and understood in our formation programmes. We have over 220 students in our formation programmes in Africa and elsewhere. This year is an opportunity to highlight and focus for them the missionary identity of our Society so that they will be fully imbued with the missionary spirit of the SMA.
Each unit of the Society is engaged in different ways in celebrating the anniversary. Emphasis has been placed on celebrating on a local level in order to involve our families and our many friends and benefactors.
The main celebration for the Society took place at the Basilica of our Lady of Fourvière in Lyons on Sunday, the 25th June. It was a magnificent gathering of our members and supporters from around the world. The Eucharistic celebration of thanksgiving was presided over by Cardinal Berbérin, Archbishop of Lyons, in the presence of Cardinal Turkson from Cape Coast in Ghana, the homily was preached by Archbishop Robert Sarah, Secretary, Congregation for the Evangelisation of peoples, present also were Bishops from many African Countries representing the countries and peoples where we established the Church.. The mass was televised live in France.
This occasion has been an opportunity to thank the peoples of Africa for their warm welcome and hospitality to our missionaries over the century and a half that we have been present there. From the beginning they welcomed us and made us part of their lives. We have been fortunate to have learned much from them. Many of our missionaries are buried along the coast of West Africa, some died at a very young age, they gave their lives for the love of the Gospel and to bring a message of hope and salvation. That is still our hope and prayer for the future, that many will join in our missionary work and the areas still untouched by the message of love, brought to us by Jesus Christ, will soon hear the Good News of salvation. Our main hope for the future from this celebration is that all will engage for this important work and that our young members of the future will proudly carry forward the missionary tradition of our society, courageously facing the challenges that lie ahead in our work in Africa. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 6/7/2006, righe 121, parole 1517)