By Pierre-Paul Dossekpli

Thursday, 23 July 2026

A triple jubilee brought together about 120 pilgrims from the Society of African Missions (SMA) and the Our Lady of Apostles Sisters (OLA) this week, as members from provinces and districts across the world gathered for a weekend of prayer, reflection, and fraternity, retracing the roots of their missionary founders.

From Lyon to Lille

The day began early, with pilgrims departing Lyon and praying Lauds together on the bus during the long journey north. Their destination was Lille, and specifically the Church of St Catherine — a place of deep significance for the SMA family, as it was the parish of Father Augustin Planque during the years he lived there with his aunt.

Upon arrival, the group celebrated Mass at St Catherine’s, presided over by Father Augustin Placide Houessinon, Provincial of the SMA of Lyon.

A Warm Welcome

Sr Victoria Zirra, OLA, Provincial Leader of France, opened the celebration with a heartfelt welcome to the visiting sisters, brothers, and friends who had traveled from different corners of the world to take part. She expressed her hope that the days ahead would be a time of prayer, renewal, and fraternity — an opportunity to rekindle the missionary charism handed down by the founders of both institutes and to inspire renewed enthusiasm for the mission.

The Meaning of a Jubilee Year

In his homily, Father Augustin reflected on the meaning of the Jubilee year now being celebrated by the SMA and NDA families. He described it as a special year of grace: a time for the renewal of faith, forgiveness, and reconciliation—an invitation for the faithful to give themselves more fully to Christ and to receive his mercy.

He traced the arc of the jubilee, which began on 1 May 2025 at the Cathedral Church of Porto-Novo in the Republic of Benin, and which will close on 8 December 2026. Even as the formal year draws to an end, he urged the congregation to continue living out its spirit well beyond the closing date, recalling the words of Pope St John Paul II on jubilees: to remember the past with gratitude, live the present with enthusiasm, and look to the future with confidence.

Drawing from the day’s Gospel on the universal family of Jesus, Father Augustin highlighted the criteria for belonging to that family — yearning for Jesus, searching for him, listening to him, and doing the will of God. He also reflected on St Paul’s words to the Galatians on a life lived in Christ, noting that this same conviction inspired St Elizabeth of the Trinity, and could serve as a daily motto for missionaries today. He reminded pilgrims not to let action crowd out contemplation, describing the community’s spirituality as one of being “contemplative in action.”

He closed by describing pilgrimage itself as a special journey undertaken for reasons of devotion, petition, or the search for inner peace, and prayed that this particular pilgrimage — bringing the group to the church and streets where Fr Augustin Planque spent his youth — would deepen the faith of all who took part.

Along the Way

At the end of the day, several pilgrims shared their impressions.

Nataliya Broslavska, a lay missionary from Poland now serving in Tanzania, described the long bus journey as filled with singing, laughter, and conversation — a chance to get to know fellow pilgrims. In Tanzania she teaches English at a mission school and works with Tanzanian Youth Catholic Students, mentoring secondary school students. For her, the SMA feels like one big family: diverse in origin, but united and close.

Dr Caroline Kagwiria Kimathi, coordinating chair of the Friends of SMA in Kenya and a university professor, said the nine-hour journey passed comfortably, giving her the chance to learn more about the shared history connecting the SMA priests and OLA sisters and to see Fr Augustin Planque’s home parish firsthand. She noted that what drew her to the SMA was its work with vulnerable communities, particularly the mission in Lodwar, Kenya, and the openness of the priests to collaborate with lay people.

Sr Marie-Thérèse Hakim, OLA, from Egypt, summed up the day simply: it was a lovely, interesting day, marked by the joy of reunion.

As the pilgrimage continues over the coming days, the group looks ahead to further stops that will retrace the founding story of their missionary family — carrying with them Father Augustin’s call to remain contemplative even in the midst of action.