By Father Louis Demba Ndione SSS
Under the patronage of our Blessed Mother, whom our founder, Saint Peter Julian Eymard, honored as Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament, the Province of Senegal has been entrusted to her loving and motherly care from its beginning as a province. Our province called her “Our Lady of Africa.” It evolved from a “Delegation” to a “Region” until it was officially established as a “Province” on Monday, June 20, 2017. We worked closely with the Italian Province. The Province of Italy visited Senegal, bringing the Eucharistic flame through their Blessed Sacrament (SSS) Missionaries. … They founded communities aligned with the local church’s needs and realities. Through their testimony and service to the local church, the charism of the SSS spread across Senegal. Many dioceses invited the SSS to take over some parishes and continue sharing their love and devotion to the Eucharist through celebration and adoration.
Since then, the Eymardian legacy and spirituality have been well preserved. In collaboration with the mother Province of Italy, the young Province of Our Lady of Africa – Senegal, is now moving toward independence. We held the first Provincial Chapter in 2018 and the second in 2022. In line with the Chapters’ directions, all members are committed to working closely as custodians of the Eymardian legacy and spirituality entrusted to us by the Italian missionaries. Today, the Province of Our Lady of Africa has 34 priests, 3 students, 2 novices, and 4 postulants. The province attracts many young people interested in our way of life, but the high cost of formation makes recruitment challenging. Nonetheless, no vocation is overlooked, and the province continues to provide guidance, support, and discernment to everyone who seeks us.
We gathered for our 3rd Provincial Chapter to find better solutions for many of these challenges and expectations. Hopefully, with the new Provincial Superior, Father Bernard Noel Tine SSS, and his council, the province will respond to current realities and challenges related to its life, formation, and the specialization of its members in areas that can enhance our mission and life.
Photo: The new provincial superior and provincial council with Father Superior General, and Vicar General Father Anaclet Bambala SSS: [left to right: Father Boniface (Secretary), Father Bernard Tine SSS (Provincial), Father Ernest (Provincial Treasurer) and Father Abraham (Vicar Provincial)]
