Content

Editorial by Lucie Pruvost    

To be opened to differences

In Marseilles, Africa and Europe live together by the community of Marseilles
Immigrants of different religions and cultures in Canada  by Pierrette Pelletier
Intercultural and inter-religious encounters in a care home by the sisters of Evere
Religious pluralism in prisons by Jeanne Gillerot
Encounters in immigrant milieu by the community of Málaga

Sharing life

Goodbye to Claire, our elder sister! by Madeleine Bédard
Mauritania, new route for the migrant flow by Mia Dombrecht
"As I have loved you" by Emérite Kiloba
The tertianship pitches its tent at the Villino by Kordula, Agathe, Annemie et Cécile

A walk through the archives

Evolution of our structures of government by Lucie Pruvost

Did you know that?

Muslim presence in Italy (L. P.) 
The centenary of the arrival of MSOLA in Kenya (L. P.)   
The spirit of Assisi (La Croix -Internet)    

Communications
Recall of a historical event
Launching of the Lavigerie Programme

Editorial

      To be open to differences is that not an integral part of our very identity, of the charism of the congregation today so largely "intercontinental"? It is in international communities that we are sent to Africa and to its diversity of cultures and religions. However, in the light of changes in the world, this aspect of our sendings is also lived in Euramerica, for the phenomenon which specialists name the "migratory flux". They apply to the immense displacements of populations, a vocabulary formerly reserved to migratory birds flying seasonally to other climates. This issue of Sharing attempts to view the question under the aspect of women, men, and entire families "migrating" from the South to the North.

      How, in Euramerica, are MSOLA trying to take into consideration the cultural and religious identities of the people they are helping to welcome? Also, these persons seeking an other better place, usually more imagined than real, are they not among the poor and the destitute which the Millenary Campaign Objectives call us to be attentive to? At the beginning of this year, the General Council appealed to us to adhere to these objectives so important for Africa and which, essentially correspond so well to the apostolic orientations stated by the chapter of 2005 (C. A. p.52). We also note that these reportings complete very well those of our sisters and communities of Africa, object of Sharing, April No.2, " Encounter of religions..."

      So it is that you will find here the testimonies of several of our communities and sisters of Europe (France, Spain and Belgium) and from CUM (Canada). That which is lived from a similar point of view in Mauritania, new road for these migrations, is very well explained in an article sent in by a sister in Nouakchott which, in Sharing of Life, reports on a conference given by a "migrant' who himself has very well resettled in Europe.

      The other contributions are not directly centred on this theme, but they are of real interest. In Sharing of Life, we say farewell to Claire Bélanger, solid pillar of the Generalate. We discover as well a lived experience with Moslem children, in Mauritania. Similarly, see how the French tertianship of last 1 April to 28 June at the Villino, also 'migrated', as you will read.

      Diverse analogies appear in the Did You Know That? where the overall theme of this issue emerges in a recall of what we might call the "Spirit of Assissi" and some facts on the "Moslem Presence in Italy". Let us not forget the celebration of the "Centenary of MSOLA Arrival in Kenya", lightly touched here before the full narrative appears in No. 5
to come. As for the Walk Through the Archives, it allows us to make a concise guided tour of the evolution of our structures of government since 1882.

      You will receive this issue of our congregation bulletin when coming back home after longer or shorter holidays, giving an impulse of new life both physically as well as spiritually... Enjoy the reading!

Lucie Pruvost

To be open to differences

In Marseilles, Africa and Europe Live Together

Religious diversity
According to a recent IFOP survey, the French population is 64% Catholic, 2.1% Protestant, 0.6% Jewish, 3% Moslem and 27% without religion. In fact, according to other statistics, the percentage of Catholics would be less and that of the Moslems be more. What is agreed upon is that lack of faith is the major problem of a society losing its point of reference. As for the city of Marseilles, with its 800,000 inhabitants, it has the strongest representation of people without religion and of Moslems becoming increasingly visible with the wearing of the veil, its celebration of feasts and its posters. It is in Marseilles that we find the greatest mixture of populations: we can count some 54,000 foreigners of whom 60% come from the Maghreb. It is here also that we meet the greatest poverty. In fact, 25% of the population live with job insecurity, which is on the increase.

Place of exchanges
      It must be said that the fact of Marseilles being a big open port on the Mediterranean makes of it a place of exchanges, with all this part of the world situated on the two shores of this sea. As for the exchanges with the Maghreb, there are some one and a half million persons who, each year, go there by boat or by plane. That is not all. We find in Marseilles a sampling of all the people from the countries surrounding the Mediterranean: Albania, ex-Yugoslavia, Armenia, Italy, Spain, Greece, Malta, Crete, Cyprus, Egypt, Libya, Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel. Add to that, the increasing number of Comorians and Africans from Sub-Saharan Africa. They often come in illegally through Spain and Italy. Because of the geographical configuration of the city, large clusters of them have built along the edges of villages tucked into the hillsides, which also are part of the city. The Northern quarters shelter the biggest proportion of immigrants.

      This immigration context, especially that of the Maghrebs and Sub-Saharans, presents a big challenge for the Church of Marseilles. Our MSOLA community, in Marseilles since 1898, and since 1922 in our very house, has known full involvement. As of 1914, some sisters visited the hospitals. Special mention must be made of the zealous presence of Sr. Georgina (Suzanne Kouri, 1895-1986), famous in all of Marseilles for her 'wagon-welcome' and her 'Minous de la Belle de Mai'. It is with her that the community orientated itself to the welcoming of immigrants providing alphabetization, sewing, representations... Then came involvement in the City of Olives where some MSOLA lived for 30 years starting in 1975, establishing ties between the Maghrebian families and the Christian community with its difficulties. Then there was the commitment of Marguerite-Marie Luc, responsible for the Pastoral programme for Migrants of the region Provence-Cote d'Azur, from 1993 to 2004. This allowed her to assess the increasing job insecurity of the immigrants of all origins. Some among them, when obliged to repatriate, do not hesitate to jump from the boats repatriating them. Kurds even occupied a church threatening to kill themselves by fire.

Illegal immigrants and those "without papers"
      In 2006-2007, the question of illegal immigrants is in the order of the day. With their families, children in schools are threatened with expulsion and to be sent back to their countries of origin. A suicide in the detention Centre of Canet speaks eloquently of the tensions caused by these "strong-arm" deportations. During the past year, some hundred illegal immigrants have occupied the Mistral Diocesan Centre. Several meetings have been organised to find solutions and to encourage them. The Catholics joined with the Protestants and Orthodox for a common action with Cimade, CCFD (the Catholic Committee against Hunger and for Development), the Network of "Education without Frontiers" and Catholic Aid. Demonstrations in view of support and sponsorship took place to have the situation regularised at the beginning of the academic year. Reflection Committees have been formed concerning the opening of the frontiers and the opening up of parishes to welcome foreigners. Seven among us participated.

      Add to that the new challenge of the "without papers" facing recent new options taken by the country. The campaign for the election of the President of the Republic was also a forum of commitment for some of us. It was a matter of making the candidates aware by preparing a file on immigration and asking
them, among other things, an immigration policy respecting the rights of migrants. A dozen Christian organisations were involved with the slogan: "Planetary State of Emergency: vote for a France in solidarity". Among others, we point out the CCFD where Marie-Claude Berrod is involved, Cimade, Catholic Aid.

Commitments and concerted action
      In our community, several sisters are involved in various activities and encounters, whether with Moslems or other kinds of immigrants experiencing difficulties. Lucette Guy accompanies a woman now happily on the way to regularisation of her status... but what a number of interventions! For her part, Paulette Marionneau receives several women each Thursday for sewing and meetings where they can voice their difficulties. In some cases, fanaticism surges up while in other cases, there is a spirit of dialogue. Paulette is also in touch with a Kurd family illegally in the country. At the 'Belle de Mai', Adele Deloute helps children for their homework, and Danielle Follain has a literacy group for women. Danielle prepared a young Cameroon woman for confirmation. Germaine Feuillat and Adele give time to welcome AIDS victims, among whom are "people from elsewhere".

      From the Church, we are invited to theological reflection and a concerted action by the Mistral Diocesan Centre working closely with the Catholic Superior Theological Institute of Religions and the Catholic Mediterranean Institute. There is also the "Tibhirine" group. The municipality is also there: in 1990 and with the support of the religions, the mayor of the city launched "Marseille Espérance" (Marseilles Hope) wishing it to be instrument of peace and fraternity, and with the aim of fostering a climate of dialogue. Let us also mention
"Radio-Dialogue", ecumenical radio where one Missionary of Africa is among those in charge.

      We really feel that Mission is also in Marseilles, a mission in which each one is committed according to her capacities and which we bring wholeheartedly into our prayer. Through these contacts, we are sensitized to the drama of the migrants and we discover their courage in their difficult life as well as many gestures of friendship. It is for us an opening, a solidarity. Our privileged ties with the Moslems, especially the women, which is explained by the fact that more than half of us have lived many years in the Maghreb, help us to put the emphasis on the 'living with', the welcoming, always as a community.

Different appeals
      These contacts also carry different appeals. Already with the Moslems we have met, we are called to help them find personal values in a society where Islam has lost its sociological dimension. These appeals are equally addressed to our own faith, which must be deepened and expressed to help fellow citizens, our brothers and sisters in the faith, to have an open attitude. There is also the call to put into perspective our own small difficulties, to admire the courage, the faith of our foreign brothers and sisters, to struggle with them according to our small capacities. We ourselves have a lot to do to understand how to situate ourselves as Christian in this Marseilles universe, with its population marked by non-faith, fear of the other who is different, which engenders fanaticism and aggressivity in those who feel they are a minority, a fear from which we must also free ourselves. All these encounters as Church and in non-denominational associations help us to experience another way of living as brothers and sisters, a new experience of Church which we have already tasted in Africa. We must go beyond the movement of compassion, understand what is at stake today and meet the Spirit at work in them, in us and in History. Let us say in conclusion that our participation in the daily struggle to support those excluded from the 'French life', helps us to meet Jesus suffering, Jesus victorious, and Jesus in solidarity.

The Community of Marseilles

Immigrants of Different Religions and Cultures in Canada

"Moonlight penetrates in a room according to the opening
even though its light spreads itself from East to West"
(Rumi, poet, mystic Persian, 13th c.)

Religious features
      Congregation born in Moslem Algeria, then a French colony, how could we not be sensitive to Islamic peoples arriving in our country to find peace and a better life? Here, in Canada, some MSOLA have kept friendship ties with Moslem families for several years. Others have systematically built up forms of dialogue among believers.

      What religious features do we find in Quebec? In a population of 8 million inhabitants are found: 5.9 million Catholics; 400,000 without religion; 300,000 Protestants; 108,000 Moslems; 90,000 Jews; 90,000 Orthodox; 41,000 Buddhists; 24,000 Hindus; 29,000 Jehovah Witnesses. In the whole of Canada, the Moslem population is young and does not have historical roots as do the Catholics, Protestants and Jews. Immigrants coming from Moslem countries have known a remarkable increase in the past twenty years amounting to a 158%. The cities of concentration are Toronto (Ontario), Vancouver (BC), and Montreal (Quebec). One Moslem, Baha Abu-Laban, writes: "One of the greatest problems of Moslem leaders is to form a coherent whole from the diverse nationalities and linguistic groups which make up the Moslem community in Canada."

Political-religious fundamentalism
      The discovery of a political-religious fundamentalism surprises Mrs. Fatima Houda-Pepin coming from Morocco 35 years ago and now a deputy in the National Assembly of Quebec. She discovers circles of indoctrination where the women are veiled even with each other and in the interior of their own homes. Imams formed in a rigorous school propagate a radical Islam aiming at the isolation of the Moslems from their welcoming communities... messages calling upon the jihad, and inciting to hatred of the infidels... and of Western democrats."  She is shocked by the "indifference of public officials, due to a lack of knowledge of Islam, while Moslems impose their vision."

      In line with that, we recently see the emergence of fear in front of minorities who, in the name of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, claim exemptions concerning the veil, the place of prayer in schools and even at the saphouse (cabane à sucre!). They have obtained "reasonable accommodation" which frightens the ordinary citizen and aggravates the patience of a Quebec population recently secularized. In response to this, the Assembly of Catholic Bishops has published a brochure: Inter-religious Dialogue in a Pluralistic Quebec.

Moslem identity in Canada
      In Ottawa, federal capital and city of ambassadors, Cécile Bisson was invited in May by a friend in the Artisans of Peace, Kadija Haffajee, to take part in an important Annual Convention for which the Islamic Society of North America has taken the initiative. More than 2000 Moslems come together to reflect on their Moslem identity in the heart of Canada, an identity which is both fully Moslem and fully Canadian. There were prestigious lecturers, such as Tariq Ramadan, Muneer Farid, Ingrid Mattson, Salah Basalamah and thirty others coming from a variety of countries. At the request of the Canadian Religious Conference and in connection with the Franco-Ontarian JPIC, Cécile will prepare an information meeting on Islam for autumn.

Concerned and committed sisters
      In the city of Quebec, through her work with immigrants, Edith Potvin visits several Moslem families. Amina, Moroccan lady, employed in Sillery, remains devoted to the sisters in Beauport. At the Basilica, a Lenten conference addressed the question, "Did Jesus ask us to evangelise also the Moslems?" This provoked some reactions from the Moslem community inclined itself to proselytism in the schools extending to the south of Saint Lawrence River. For her part, Léonie Goulet gives her testimony to groups asking for it and even participates in radio programmes. Jeannine Groleau has been giving French lessons to Moslem immigrants for several years.

Temples and traditions
      In Montreal, if the first mosque appeared in 1965, we may now count some fifty of them varying in their importance. The Sikh temples with their magnificent golden domes can no longer be hidden, likewise the Buddhists and Hindu temples, while the Bahaye libraries remain discreet. The traditions of the 'First Nations' (Amerindians) are no longer rejected as superstitions, but sought out in the name of an eco-humanist spirituality. We call the Amerindians, the Guardians of the Earth.

Testimonies
      Cécilia Bergeron reports:  "Thérèse St-Jean and I feel more and more linked to the Algerians who are increasingly numerous in Montreal. We may say with Mgr. Claverie: 'We have formed ties with the Algerians which nothing can destroy, not even death. In this we are disciples of Jesus-Christ.

' I continue the dialogue of the heart and of life as I was doing in Algiers. The fact that I stayed there for 46 years and that I know the language, facilitates our relations. With some, the ties are more intimate, and we meet around a cup of coffee or in front of a couscous where friendships cement. We share the same fears for those whom we left in the middle of the fray. The beginnings are difficult for them. I often bridge a gap between the families, am a support and a help for those who arrive or who are in difficulties, a confidante. In general, they adapt well. They are courageous and do not fear a return to studies if they do not find work. I know several women doctors who ended up doing their nurse's training. Among the new arrivals, there are more couples with young children. There are also those who have known MSOLA in Algeria. The Algerian community is dynamic and active. Associations organise community feasts, conferences. They participate in events taking place in their country of welcome..."

      On the day following an evening on Algerian culture, Cécilia received this message from the lecturer:

      Dear Nana Cécilia,
Know that it is I who thank you for having honoured me by your presence. I was happy and thrilled to find in you so much tenderness and love, for my native Kabylia and her people among whom you lived for such a long time to merit, and receive in return, gratitude and affection. Well, inasmuch as the love lavished upon us by Our Lord does not expect a counterpart, that of my friends and certainly of all the grateful Kabilian community, goes often towards you as to a sister or a grandmother guardian of this Berber soul so long unrecognised.

Dialogue groups
      Mathilde Roy made her debut at the Canadian Ecumenical Centre in 1992. She is still at the YWCA (Young Women's Christian Association). In 1995, she began an Islamo-Christian Dialogue group with eight Moslems and eight Christians, which has been meeting for eight years and has lived a beautiful human and spiritual experience. Friendships persevere even though members are dispersed. Mathilde has twice been the 'responding Christian', giving her life witness with a parallel Moslem on the occasion of radio panels, focusing on Feminism and Inter-spiritualities, held at the Universities of Montreal and McGill, at Radio-Ville-Marie, and on the occasion of Congresses.

      Thérèse Gravel and I, Pierrette Pelletier, were involved three years ago with the monthly meetings at the MAfr, bringing together Christians and Moslems, where we experienced deep joys. Then, with Jacqueline David, I created InterFaith which meets in Cartierville. The schema is always the same: two-hour meetings with a refreshment break. The theme foreseen is presented by the Christian side and the Moslem side, then around the table, each participant has the option to speak. Prayer, recollection, silence. The fruits of each encounter constitute a precious testimony. The Moslems are of different allegiances. The Sufis attract the 'Québecois' because of their gentleness, their joy. Ali wrote to me: The sharing is the most important part. If the world could follow the example of our group, I think that God would be very pleased with human beings!

Pierrette Pelletier, Montreal - Cartierville
Consult site: www.interreligion.com

Intercultural and Inter-Religious Encounters in a Care Home

      Can a community inserted in a nursing care and rest home, presume to participate in the MSOLA witnessing to intercultural and inter-religious dialogue? Why not? Was it not precisely the theme of our annual report of 2005-2006:
"Build and celebrate our communion for Mission here in Evere, in our present multicultural living context"?

Multicultural context
      Evere, small township in the northeast part of the Brussels-Capital Region, counts 32,718 inhabitants of whom 60.7% are between 20 to 64 years old. The territory counts some twenty nationalities comprising 16% of the population of Evere. The Belgians of origin represent 83% of the total population. After that come Italians, Moroccans, French, Congolese, Spanish, Portuguese, Turks, Polish, Greeks, etc.

Personnel and residents
      The nursing home is bilingual (French and Dutch). While the management personnel is of Belgian origin, the service personnel (caretakers, cooks, maintenance crew) are about 40% of foreign origins. They come from Africa - North and Sub-Saharan, Italy, Spain, Egypt, ex-Yugoslavia. We appreciate the cultural pluralism in which we bathe.

      With the personnel and residents, we form one large family. We meet at meals, participate in the feasts of each culture, share recreational activities and outings, while helping one another. On the religious level, we share the Eucharist with some of them. In fact, among those of European Christian origins, there are different responses: the practising Catholics, the indifferent ones, the Orthodox, the Jehovah Witnesses... On the whole, persons coming from Central Africa, live a very fervent Christianity. Those coming from North Africa are believers of Islam.

Daily encounters
We as MSOLA have friendly relations with all. Often, we know the customs of their countries of origin. The year is marked by Christian feasts, but we try to show interest in the Moslem feasts; a birth is the occasion of a small gift, anniversaries are feasts for everyone. We are thus living inter-religious encounters on a daily basis. It often happens watching TV that one or the other will explain how they practice their faith: Moslem prayer, Ramadan, Lent, the Mass... There is interest and mutual respect. It is not mainly by words, but by our simple daily life that we communicate openness to other ways of meeting God, that we respect other ways of going to God, even while joyfully living our own faith.

Joy of... thirst for...
What do we receive from these contacts? The joy of knowing each other better, of making friends, of appreciating services received and on occasion, given, of discovering so many different personalities, of noting the seriousness of Islamic faith in some of them, seeing first hand the dedication of mothers of families working for their homes, the zeal of others at their work, always in good humour. For us MSOLA, we retain the thirst for meeting at a deeper level. In our house, the personnel must first give time to their work, but we note that our presence as a missionary community as well as that of the Missionaries of Africa has a significant impact in the house.

The sisters of Evere, Belgium

Religious Pluralism in Prisons

      I fully live religious pluralism in Brussels through my presence in prisons for both men and women. At present, I am a visiting-member of the Social Reinsertion Commission.

Political and religious microcosm
      Among the men, there are more and more Africans coming mainly from Central Africa or Morocco. The latter are in general of the generation of those who responded to the appeal for workers sent out by the Belgian government some thirty years ago. Those from Central Africa come mainly from the Congo, Rwanda and Burundi, unless they were born in Belgium. They usually register either as Christian or Moslems. As a whole, the prison is a political and religious microcosm. We also meet Jews, Buddhists, and less often Orthodox, Protestants, Catholics, people from everywhere. Few say they have no religion or are non-believers. Each week, there are Catholic, Protestant, and Moslem services. Catholic and Protestant chaplains regularly visit their detainees. According to their origins or to their beliefs, some live out their faith very discreetly: Animists, Vaudou, and Sects... The extremes are not accepted.

My relationships
      Personally, I have contacts with members of other cults, and also with "seculars"... Listening, rendering services, accompanying, appealing to the ministers of other religions having no chaplaincy services at the prison (Orthodox, Buddhists, Jews). I am also in relationship with the families, as well as accompanying persons after their release.

      A whole network of services, fraternity, mutual helping is woven among the members of the Social Defence Commission. These are all volunteers, men and women of all ages. Through meetings and visits, I see prison personnel as well as their families regardless of their faith.

The strength of his grace
      In this milieu, I live the presence of God, faith in His action. I feel this presence in my life, in the lives of the detainees and of the people who come to them... "Your hand guides me." I have faith in the strength of his grace. It happens especially with the women prisoners, that they themselves ask to be prayed with and that we teach them to pray... As regards relationships, it is the mutual esteem, support and service that are important.

      In this prison milieu, I hope to bring to the other a cordial relationship, a life witness, a service; and to the men and women prisoners, a support both moral and spiritual, sometimes help in finding a way of life, a rereading of their personal lives, an awaking to faith. Help them feel that a new life is possible, that each one is loved by God, along with supporting the families.

What I discover
      This apostolate opens me up to a respect for all cultures, which I come to know by being a part of their different milieu and states of life. I discover also the spirit of service, of mutual help among the visitors; a whole world dedicated to the service of those who, too often, are rejected and despised. Behold my sense of wonder faced with the work of God in the heart of all, of each man and woman whoever they be, the mutual trust and the need, the desire for God.

Jeanne Gillerot, Uccle-Accueil (Belgium)

Encounters in Immigrant Milieu

      The purpose of our community in Málaga has from the beginning been to be present to the immigrants. Today, the phenomenon is further accentuated. This is attested to by Pilar Hernandez who, for 9 years, has been working with the immigration commission of Caritas. The people that we meet, whether in daily life or in our work situations, arrive from everywhere. They are of all nationalities and claim a wide diversity of religions.

Our encounters
      On the religious level, we participate in a variety of inter-religious encounters. Some are specifically planned, as during the Week of Unity with Protestants, Evangelical Church, Anglicans and Orthodox. On occasion, we go to an inter-religious centre, the "Malaika Centre". There we enter into contact with Buddhists, Jews, Bahais and Orthodox. We also participated in the 2nd inter-religious Congress for Peace, which was held in Malaga and where a large number of religious denominations were represented.

Community open to everyone
Never have we experience any misunderstandings or prejudices on one side or another in these encounters or relationships. It must be said that our community is open to everyone. We often have Moslem visitors who are at ease with us. We feel that they find a real security, an unconditional understanding and affection, certainly a deep trust. On our part, we also go to visit them. Never do they feel that we want to draw them to our religion.

Encounters in each one's activities
      There are also the individual encounters of each sister in her particular service area. Thus it is that in her school, Adoración Bolivar more and more meets students belonging to families coming from other countries. We can count 20 different nationalities. Adoración has good relationships with the Moslem students. On feast days, she is invited to share the meal with families from Morocco and Algeria. She has also made friends with the recognised professor of Islam for the school.

      As for Matilde Fernández, since her arrival in 1998, it is with this in mind that she works with the NGO. To help immigrants come to a better integration in our society, she teaches them Spanish. Teresa Pascual also gave language lessons. Later on she went to the "Pozos Dulces", a welcoming centre where we find foreigners. Actually, Dolores Cuadrado (Lola) is involved there.

With Caritas
      Pilar Hernández explains her work with Caritas. In her service has been established the "offer and demand", a kind of work scholarship. On the one hand, families or persons needing help, housewives, etc. and on the other hand, migrants who, in their turn, need work to find a salary on which to subsist. Initially, most of them came from Eastern Europe: Ukrainians, Russians, Rumanians. Then there were Moroccans, South Americans and Africans. At present, the largest number comes from Paraguay and Bolivia.

      The work is very well organised, each member of the team has a specific role, and so all works well. First, there is the welcome. Then, a meeting is arranged between the two interested parties, either directly or by telephone. The direct interview is more positive; the family or one of its members comes to the Centre, and the meeting takes place there with the person most suited for the task required. In general, this works out very well especially, when both parties are in agreement. Thank God that up to now, we have had no problem on any level, with either the police or justice, etc. The immigrants are satisfied with the service and the population is grateful to us. We have made hundreds of placements. One question remains, that of obtaining a just salary. We still need to work on that point. Today, what had started on our small basis, is in the process of becoming a very important information centre for the diocese, a kind of authority, a source of information for everyone.

      Another important source of immigration comes from the religious vocation, especially contemplative... In the case of religious leaving their Congregation, they need to be helped to find work and be supported in their new orientation.

      In community, we all agree on a fraternal and warm dialogue and welcome. This facilitates understanding of one another, and we all feel involved.

The Community of Malaga, Spain

Sharing Life

Goodbye to Claire, our elder sister!

      Our community's elder sister, Claire Bélanger, will be leaving us on 12 September next to continue her mission in her home country of Canada. Hers is a departure that touches us all! Her final term at the Generalate has lasted 18 years - 4 years in Frascati (not counting her previous years as secretary general) and 14 years in Rome. What rootedness! Christ's mission at the very heart of our Congregation !

      To speak of Claire is to speak of an attentive, discreet presence and exceptional dedication; of someone who never tired and was always anxious to lend a hand and to play her part at reception in the house. The many services, both major and minor, she provided expressed her quality of being, a true sacrament of God's presence among us!

      Let's recall some of the responsibilities she has borne here. Her tried and tested capabilities and long experience as secretary general, then as personal secretary to the superior general (Marie McDonald), were the assets which made her such an invaluable help and wise counsellor at the heart of the secretariat. Knowing the archives like the back of her hand, Claire introduced our archivist, Hildegunde Schmidt, to the job and worked with her in it. She responded diligently and effectively to the needs of the General Council in that field. She also involved herself in translation and provided the link with others to maintain this service, as well as helping to edit obituaries.

      As the Guardian of our history, she was able to remember all the everyday events and maintain the community diary in a very interesting way. She passed on to us her deep appreciation of our historical inheritance, a treasure entrusted to us. And how often she put us in touch with the lived experience of our Congregation and with our roots!

      Claire's departure provides an opportunity for us to recall the message which the Lord has sent us through her. We can also benefit from the witness to the gift of self which she leaves us. It is a message of hope for us who remain here and for the younger ones too!

      It only remains for us to pay her a resounding tribute and to give thanks to the Lord for her faith and detachment, which have enabled her to prepare calmly for her departure.

Madeleine Bédard, Rome

Mauritania, New Route for the Migrant Flow

      In this month of May of 2007, the sisters of Nouakchott attended a conference given at the French Cultural Centre of the city by a geographer, professor at the University of Aix-en-Provence, Mr. Ben Ali Saad, on the trans-Saharan migration flow towards the Maghreb and Europe. Mia Dombrecht gives us a summary of the presentation.

      Up to now, the migrations from the South towards the North passed through Libya and Algeria. Rather abruptly, a new route has opened in Mauritania, with Nouadhibou as the new point of departure towards Europe. Surprisingly enough, these migration routes passing through the Sahara are also taken up by people from India or Latin America. We must replace this process of transformation on a world scale. This new form of migration, begun around 1990 with a climax in 2000, increases and settles itself so as to last.

      There is a discrepancy between the reality of this trans-Saharan migration towards Europe and its perception. In fact, in spite of media coverage, this migratory flow represents only 3 to 4 % of world migrations. In Spain, 3/4 of the migrants come from Latin America and from Eastern Europe, only 1/4 are from Africa. Each year, 2 million Mexicans cross over the border into the United States. Why is there such a fixation on the trans-Saharan migrations when this flow through the Maghreb and Europe is relatively of so little import? Actually, the phenomenon carries a very strong emotional and psychosocial impact because the confrontation with the other, who is different, is not evident. It is as if one continent were advancing toward the other as it actually happens physically between the two shores of the Mediterranean, at the rate of one centimetre per annum! In no other part of the world is the developing so close to the industrial.

      Europe lives with a certain fear faced with the migrant flows for which the Maghreb serves as springboard, and because of which the Sahara experiences profound transformations accompanied by urbanisation. Large cities are springing out of the desert: Nouakchott, Tamanrasset. The African population provides the manual labour for the construction of these metropolises. Itineraries are invented, and the Sahara can now be crossed. At its periphery, it becomes a meeting place for relations. Globalization happens at the edges and peripheries of the world. The developing Maghreb also wants to tame its desert.

      Why do Saharans move around? We used to think that the cause was misery. We can see now that 1/3 of the migrants are university people, and 1/3 are women. A new meaning emerges for the migration. It is the better edu- cated, the more innovative persons who leave. Are they the modern heroes, pushed by something imperative that makes them consciously face death? This facing of death becomes the sign of a supreme consciousness - risking one's life unto a death - which nourishes itself through an imaginary happiness and success that migration could bring about.

      In all this, the Maghreb is the most concerned, much more than Europe. In certain cities of Southern Algeria, we may meet up to 40 nationalities. Algiers, Oran and Rabat have their Africa quarters. Yet the countries of the Maghreb refuse to recognise this migration and to give it numbers. While Europe tends to exaggerate the numbers, the Maghreb denies them. From a zone of emigration towards the North, it becomes a zone of immigration from the South. Already, certain activities are mostly assured by Sub-Saharans: agriculture in the Sahara, public works and construction, domestic servants. The Maghreb sees itself confronted by an enormous challenge: from monolithic - Sunnite Moslem - it is becoming cosmopolitan and must welcome other languages, cultures, religions...

Mia Dombrecht, Nouakchott (Mauritania)

"As I Have Loved You... "

      It was on a Friday, 8 June; we were nearing the end of the academic year foreseen for 15 June. "Children, shall we prepare songs and mimed readings and a conversation?"  "Yes, Madam". They started by copying a text which was on the blackboard. There was silence in the class.

      Savia slipped to my side and asked me, "Madam, you pray, do you not?" I answered, "Yes, Savia, I pray at home." Savia reframed her question: "Hag (it's true), Madam, you pray?" Not satisfied, she stood before me, with a slight inclination, doing the gestures of the Moslem prayer. "Look, Madam, you do like this?" I answered her that I pray without doing those gestures. "Haiwa (bon), show us how you pray, Madam, pardon!" All the other children started to plead with me, "Yes, Madam, please, show us how you pray!"

      In my heart I was telling myself, "What a critical situation for me to find myself in! It is the first time that the children ask this question! What should I tell them? Show them my prayer? Impossible!" I calmed them down, but their eyes were fixed on me, expecting something.

"Do you want me to show you my prayer? There are two things I have always shown you! I started with the one who had raised the issue.
Savie, do I love you?
-     Hatte (very much), Madam.
Is there another here I love?
-     Me, Madam, you love me.Each one answered in turn. On that day, one of them was absent. Then I heard a voice at the back of the classroom, "Madam, you also love Adama, he has not come today."
It is the first thing I have shown you and you have understood... When Aïde or Camara have no pencil or ball pen, what do I do?
-     You ask, "Who has two pens?" and we give the pen to Aïde.
And when you give your pen to Aïde, what does that show?
-     That shows that Aïde is happy, replies one of them... That shows that we love Aïde, another one says.
And so, children, I think that you understand many things. I have shown you love and I have also taught you to love one another. Is that right? And you are happy?
-     Yes!
Well that is what I can show you. As for my prayer, I cannot show it to you.
     After all that, we started to prepare our songs, a mimed reading and a conversation, for the last day of school. At midday, they told me,
-     Goodbye, Madam!
Goodbye, children, see you on Monday! And if you have a role to play, practice it on the week-end!

      That weekend, I had the monthly recollection day, and I prayed for each of these children. On Monday, I arrived, all ready to teach and repeat with the children. I see a few young ones in front of the school. They tell me, "Madam, we are beginning the holidays; there will be no more classes; the students will come and take their reports and copybooks."

      I remembered my day on last Friday. I could not realise that it was to be our last moment together. What word had the Man Jesus inspired me to say? The one that he himself had pronounced at the Last Supper. "As I have loved you, love one another." That is what I had told the children! I got gooseflesh! I remembered likewise my day of arrival at the School of Progress. My Director had told me not to show any religious sign. And the last day, it is the children who ask me to show them how I pray. And I said, "Thank you, Lord, may these children keep these words and forgive me for all the times when I ignored that you were the One acting through all that I was doing."

Emérite Kiloba, Nouakchott (Mauritania)

The Tertianship Pitches its Tent at the Villino

      Our 3rd year has pitched its tent in Rome where we were welcomed at the Villino, beside the Generalate.

      As with Abraham, we were delighted to receive visitors, signs of the presence of God in the world and in our lives, through our exchanges and the themes touched upon:

"Being Disciple" by Fr. Georges Jacques, MAfr.

"Non-violent Communication" by Fr. Guy Theunis, also MAfr.

"Mid-Life Crisis" animated by Sr. Marie-Luce Baillet, Marianist.

      Suzy Hadermann for the Constitutions and Daphne Alphonso for "Financial Administration" gave a family flavour to the tea which punctuates the life of nomads under the tent! We especially appreciated the time spent with them drinking and savouring the Constitutions and the finances. That which our hearts hold dear is surely as burning as a good hot cup of tea!

      The ropes of our tent were so long that they permitted us to go rest in France - "My heart is restless until it rests in thee" - to the shores of the Yonne, in the shade of the vineyards of Bourgogne for the long retreat. The tent of meeting with the Lord had beautiful springtime colours. It was our good fortune also to be making our retreat in the season of nature's opening up and rebirth. It was like a paradigm of our thirty days!

      "Building our communion for mission" by passing through Verrières-le-Buisson, Sceaux and Paris Gay-Lussac on the return from our retreat; two days of moving reunions for all of us: Kordula Weber, Agathe Mukamuligo, Annemie Hens, Cécile Dilé and Bijundi Bashige, our accompanist for the tertianship.

      We thank the General Council, Bijundi and the sisters of the Generalate who supplied our tent in both the literal and figurative sense! We go back with food in our bags, ready to once again leave our countries, our families... like Abraham. And with him, sure to hear Yahweh tell us: "I will make of you a mighty people, I will bless you and exalt your name. Be a blessing!"

      We finished our tertianship celebrating with our sisters of the Generalate the 25 years of religious life of Kordula.

Kordula Weber, Agathe Mukamuligo, Annemie Hens, Cécile Dilé

A Walk through the Archives

Evolution of our Structures of Government from 1882 to 2007

I. Towards a timid "decentralisation"

II. Provinces or regions?

III. Moving towards provinces: the chapter of l931

IV. A "Statute of provinces": the chapter of 1937

V. From the chapter of 1947 to that of 1959: provinces and vice-provinces

VI. Provinces in Africa: the chapter of 1959 and what followed

VII. Large regroupings - Towards three continental provinces

Lucie Pruvost, Rome

"Did you know that?"

Muslim Presence in Italy

      There are many Muslims in Italy. There are those who arrived throughout the 20th century, coming first of all from various countries round the perimeter of the Mediterranean, and then from further afield - Iran, Iraq, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka etc. They are generally well integrated into the country. There are also those who, along with many other Africans, are still arriving illegally today on the island of Lampedusa off Sicily. In 2005, the statistics reckoned the number of these Muslims at around a million, including some "clandestines".

      Some families are formed through marriages between Muslims and Christians. In 1992, 9,000 such marriages were counted in one year. Currently, these celebrations have increased to around 200,000 a year. Among these immigrants, many have acquired Italian nationality through naturalisation, marriage or birth. In addition, some Italians have chosen to become Muslims. Thus the Muslim community has gradually grown and diversified.

      And yet it seems today that neither the public authorities nor the Italian Church really knows how to manage the phenomenon. It is rather as if Italy is just discovering Islam and getting its measure. It must be said that the increase in Islamic fundamentalism, with its violent terrorist by-products, creates fear and rules out the idea of dialogue in the minds of many people. Sprinkled throughout the country, these are associations, like the "Young Muslims of Italy", with some twenty regional offices, which never cease encouraging dialogue with Christians. The Pontifical Gregorian University has an Institute for the Study of Religions and Cultures, in which several Muslim academics give lectures on Islam as a religion and civilisation. It involves women and men completely open to the inter-religious encounter.

      Wherever the Muslim community can find the means, and often thanks to help from Saudi Arabia, Muslims have opened mosques and Islamic centres. Hence Rome possesses a sumptuous mosque in the Parioli district, with a huge library and various other facilities, making it an Islamic centre, which also performs a social service role. Built between 1984 and 1992, the mosque, crowned by a minaret 39 metres high, was opened in 1995. The interior decoration was provided by 34 Moroccan artists specialising in the field. The whole project was planned by three architects - two Italians and an Iraqi Muslim.

Lucie Pruvost, Rome

The Centenary of the Arrival of MSOLA in Kenya

      One hundred years ago, on 21 April 1907, six MSOLA - a Canadian, two Germans and three French women - disembarked in Mombasa. Their ages ranged between 28 and 52. For some of them, it was the first missionary sending-out. It was in response to a request from the then Vicar Apostolic of Zanzibar, a Holy Spirit Father, who wanted a foundation elsewhere than on the coast. That corresponded well with our Founder's wish to send us into the interior of Africa.

      That first foundation in Kenya took place at Thika/Mangu. The sisters arrived there on the following 6 June. A site had already been purchased. It was to become a plantation of coffee and fruit trees, intended to generate income for the new project. But it also provided a possibility of withdrawal for the situation in which, because of the French law of separation of Church and State, which at that time applied in Algeria, the sisters would have to leave that country. Moreover, because of the good climate, the house could also accommodate those MSOLA from all over East Africa who were sick or in need of a rest.

      The six "founders" immediately set about studying the language and customs of the Kikuyu. They also launched themselves into various projects - catechism, a school, a clinic and certainly visits to the neighbouring population. A "Walk through the archives" will tell you about it at greater length in issue n° 5 of Sharing. It is enough for the present to note that our presence in Kenya should be celebrated in that country on 8 September, a date close to our hearts, and in London on 1 September.

Lucie Pruvost. Rome

"The Spirit of Assisi"

      On a visit to Assisi on 27 June this year, Benedict XVI recalled the "spirit of Assisi", instituted by John Paul II in 1986, when the latter prayed for peace with the representatives of religions from the whole world. The fact is all the more remarkable because, until quite recently, Benedict XVI had seemed to show only a secondary interest in the inter-religious encounter. This event underlined to some extent the importance of the decision taken at the end of May 2007, to restore its original autonomy to the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue (See Sharing, n°3/07). A little later, on 25 June, Cardinal J.L. Tauran was appointed its President.

      According to the experts, these decisions need not be considered as a backward step. They reflect rather a new way of regarding Islam today. In contrast to his predecessor, Mgr Fitzgerald MAfr., who is an expert on Islam seen as a religion, the new President has experience as a diplomat and is familiar with the geostrategic aspects.
Source :  www.la-croix.com 17 and 25 June 2007

Recall of a historical event

As announced in the Sharing Trentaprile (n° 5/2006, p.112), the ANNUAL ASSEMBLY will be held in Montreal from 24 to 27 September 2007. During their stay in CUM, the sisters of the General Council, accompanied by the 3 provincials, will visit all the communities of Canada and the United States. Four inter-community meetings are foreseen: in Cartierville, Beauport, Charlesbourg and Holyoke. What a joyful and hope-filled event for the sisters of CUM!

Launching the “LAVIGERIE PROGRAMME”

Towards mid-September 2007, the Lavigerie Programme will get under way. Each sister of the Congregation and some laity will receive:

1. a letter of introduction
2. the dossier no.1
3. a folder decorated with banana leaves.

The Congregation offers us the first of a series of files on the Mission, fruit of the work of the Lavigerie Committee, together with the General Council.