By Pierre-Paul Dossekpli

From 23 to 28 July 2026, the Society of African Missions (SMA) and the Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles (OLA) are gathering in France to celebrate an exceptional triple anniversary: the 170th anniversary of the SMA, the 150th anniversary of the OLA, and the 200th anniversary of the birth of Father Augustin Planque, founder of the OLA Sisters and native of Chemy. After celebrations that began in Benin and continued through several stages, this jubilee now continues on the very soil where both congregations were born.

A Week of Reunion Across Lille, Chemy and Lyon

The programme brings delegations from around the world through several places steeped in history: the Church of Sainte-Catherine and the Cathedral of Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille in Lille, the Church of Saint-Martin in Chemy — Father Planque’s native village —, the Sanctuary of Sainte-Rita in Vendeville, the Chapel of the Martyrs of Algeria in Vénissieux, as well as the Church of Saint-Louis de la Guillotière and the Basilica of Notre-Dame de Fourvière in Lyon, where the SMA was consecrated on 8 December 1856.

Each stage is marked by a Eucharist, often followed by festive moments, encounters and visits: shared meals, conferences on the two founders, and visits to the House of Pauline Jaricot and the Anticaille.

Sister Victoria Zirra: “the joy of reunion”

Among the voices accompanying the preparation of this event, that of Sister Victoria Zirra, Provincial Superior of the OLA Province of France, captures with emotion the deeper meaning of this gathering. Asked about the feelings that have accompanied her as she prepared to welcome all the sisters coming to celebrate this triple jubilee, she says plainly:

“A feeling of joy — the joy of reuniting with my sisters and brothers, and of celebrating what we share in common.”

For Sister Victoria, this joy is not limited to human reunion. It is also the joy of seeing, right here in Lyon, a collaboration between the SMA and the OLA that had been discussed for years finally take concrete shape: “The joy, too, of seeing this collaboration we had spoken of for so long — we are living it concretely, here in Lyon,” she says, adding: “The joy of seeing that everything is possible.”

She also speaks of the spiritual and commemorative dimension of the jubilee, particularly the planned visit to the Chapel of the Martyrs of Algeria in Vénissieux, a place many sisters know only by name. For her, this shared discovery — between those who carry the memory of Chemy and those who will finally experience it in person — is a source of “deep joy.”

Through her words, Sister Victoria embodies the very spirit of this triple jubilee: a celebration that unites memory, gratitude and hope, carried by the simple, sincere joy of reunion after years of waiting and preparation.

An Event Carried by an Entire Community

Father Augustin Placide Houessinon, SMA Provincial of Lyon, echoes this sense of gratitude. He notes that the event, prepared over more than a week with the whole house mobilised — confreres and sisters alike — is above all experienced as a reunion: former seminary companions who, sometimes after decades apart, finally find themselves once again around the same table.

The Maison Internationale Missionnaire, a crossroads for these encounters, gives renewed meaning to the shared missionary calling of the SMA and the OLA, in the shared joy of celebrating a heritage of more than 150 years.