From July 19 to 26, 2022, an SMA-OLA session will be held at the Brésillac Center in Calavi, within the framework of the reflection on the common spiritual heritage of the two Institutes.
The members of the SMA-OLA Commission and the SMA and OLA delegates of the different units of the two institutes are expected to attend this session. This meeting is the 3rd phase of a process initiated 7 years ago.

In fact, since 2015, the joint SMA-OLA Commission has begun to work in relation with the two General Councils, in order to help all the members of our two Institutes to appropriate together our rich spiritual heritage.

This Commission has set up a 4-phase process that will lead the two congregations to a great celebration of thanksgiving in 2026 (on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Father Planque, 150 years of the OLA Sisters and 170 years of the foundation of the SMA).

Let us recall here the different phases of the process:
1. Historical phase Return to the charism received by our founders and their first successors;
2. Experiential phase: Exploration of our experience of this common missionary charism;
3. Hermeneutical phase: Putting into perspective and confronting the history of our Institutes and our experience;
4. Actualization Phase: Actualizing our charism from this dialogue by highlighting the central elements that stand out in our charism.

In this session, the Hermeneutical Process will involve the analysis and interpretation of the key elements of our charism using history and our own experiences.
As an African proverb says; “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together”.

This collaboration is the story of two lovers of Christ, two congregations and one mission: “Go into all the world. Proclaim the Gospel to all”; (Mk 16:15). The Society of African Missions and the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles are united in the spirit of Melchior de Marion Brésillac and Augustin Planque like two sides of the same coin.

A daily account of the events of this meeting will be offered at the end of each day on this platform.

Pierre-Paul DOSSEKPLI