The highlight of this day was the visit of the Archbishop of Lyon to the members of the Plenary Council. In his opening remarks, Bishop Olivier de Germay said God does not just welcome us into his house, but he invites himself into our hearts. In his homily, in the mass that was also concelebrated by the former bishop of Niamey, Michel Cartateguy and the current bishop of Berbérati in Central African Republic, Dennis Kofi Agbenyadzi, the Primate of Gauls speaking about generosity and sharing with the poor, said, “God gives us the grace to be fruitful and the grace to be able to give.”

The soft-spoken prelate cautioned that “It’s not enough to be generous, because we can have the wrong kind of generosity.”

Unlike other days, the ninth day of the Plenary Council had only one morning session dedicated to two FLM (Fratanité laïque Missionaire) members who shared their experiences concerning migrants. The group that is attached to the province of Lyon informed members that since 2021, they have been able to welcome and accompany 32 adults and 11 children.

FLM members always wanted to do something but they did not want to do it alone. This led to the creation of an association called Collectif  Accueil de Migrants à Chaponost (CAC) which translates to Collective Welcome of Migrants in Chaponost. Working with associations helps define boundaries without which it becomes very difficult to assist migrants. Certain members of the FLM had the chance to work in Africa and elsewhere, therefore, they know how it feels to be a stranger in a foreign country and they equally know what it means to feel welcomed in a foreign country. They believe that a sure way to help people integrate in society is by welcoming and accompanying them.

Speaking in turns, Katherine Sourty and Anne Arnoux informed members that the challenge they had at the beginning was lack of proper structures in place that did not define the duration of the stay of the migrants they received. Several FLM members have welcomed migrants in their homes and in the SMA house in Chaponost, there are two furnished studios that have been available for migrants.

Steve Philips, an SMA lay missionary accompanies the migrants at Chaponost. For the migrants that do not speak French, language courses are given to them to help them get along.

Certain Migrants that went through the FLM program in Chaponost have stayed in touch as they got social housing both in Chaponost and in Lyon.

Different SMA entities are also involved in the pastoral of migrants including Italy, Holland and Benin-Niger just to mention a few.

The afternoon session was a crucial one as 21 members gathered in the Plenary Council to vote for the 2024 Budget while six superiors of districts were invited to connect through zoom. Dressed in his traditional regalia, the General Bursar made his presentation which was voted unopposed both by the Plenary Council Members as well as the district superiors online. The budget voted for include the Generalate, inter-aid fund, publications for the generalate, archives and information center at the generalate, media center, initial formation and growing entities.

Thanking everyone for adapting the Budget, the Superior General thanked all entities for their generous contributions toward different funds however big or small it may be.  

                                                             By Dominic Wabwireh, SMA