Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Fides Service) - Fr. Augustin Planque was born in Chemy, in the north of France in 1826 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1850. Augustin felt called to the priesthood at an early age and he left his father’s humble farm and entered the minor seminary at Cambrai. During his studies he showed great talent for teaching and administration and after ordination was appointed Director of the college of Bergues. However, Augustin felt called to be a missionary: he had an intense desire to bring the Gospel message to the most abandoned people of Africa. His dream came true in 1856, when Monsignor Melchior de Marion Brésillac, Founder of the Society of African Missions, launched an appeal for young priests who were prepared to leave home to share the Gospel message with the people of Africa. The young Fr. Augustin was quick to respond and he became one of the first members of the SMA Society.
In 1876, Fr. Augustin Planque founded the Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles to collaborate with the SMA Fathers in the work of evangelization, particularly in Africa. He saw the need for Sisters to educate and improve the situation of women and the girl child for whom education in the early 19th century was not a priority, especially in Africa. ‘We need Sisters to tend to the affairs of women’ says Fr. Planque, who saw the need to fortify and nurture family life with genuine Christian principles and to provide a comprehensive education for women: and so, schools became an important dimension of our missionary work. May 1st 1876 saw the beginnings of the Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles, when a group of young European women, some 10 in number, arrived at Lyons in France to form the first set of OLA Sisters. They were international from the beginning, coming from France, Italy, Ireland and Switzerland. As soon as they were ready they were sent on Mission to the West Coast of Africa, where they soon fell prey to the lethal virus of malaria and yellow fever, for which there was no cure at the time. They died within a short time; others took their place, fired with the same missionary zeal of their Founder, Fr. A. Planque, and so the Congregation continued to grow in strength and in number. Today, the Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles are approximately 800 in number, coming from America, Europe, Middle East and eleven countries in Africa and as such reflect the universal character of the Church. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 22/3/2007; righe 23, parole 321)
