The patronal feast of the African Sector of the Province of Our Lady of Loreto-Saint Anne was celebrated as usual on 26 July, this year of Hope. Bishop Léopold Médard OUEDRAOGO, Bishop of the Diocese of Manga, presided over the Eucharistic celebration, accompanied by Monsignor Yempaabou Pierre-Claver Malgo, Father Bishop of the Diocese of Fada N’Gourma, and more than a hundred priests, a crowd of religious men and women, and countless lay faithful. The parish church of Saint André de Saaba was packed to capacity with people who came to show their gratitude and affection to the Brothers and to accompany our four Brothers who said ‘Here I am!’ for ever, and our five other Brothers who give thanks to God for twenty-five and fifty years of fidelity on his part.
Brothers Nestor YIBONDA, Norbert OUBDA, Cyprien SAWADOGO and Emile-Constant SAWADOGO made their perpetual profession following Christ in the Institute, “into the hands of Brother Sylvain ZOUNGRANA, delegate of the Provincial Superior, Brother Julien ZOUNGRANA. With them, Brothers Charles SAWADOGO, Marius BAYALA and Eloi KONSEIGA gave thanks for their silver jubilee, while veteran Brothers Emile ZOUNDI and Jérôme SAWADOGO gave thanks for their half-century of life as Brothers of the Holy Family.
The joy of the Province’s patronal feast was preceded the day before by the entry into the Novitiate of four young men, Brothers Mutua Mulingué ANCENT from Kenya, Melchior Gabriel TIANDO from Benin, Jules OUEDRAOGO and Laurent DIPAMA, both from Burkina Faso. Also, five scholastic Brothers renewed their vows. Abbé Evariste did not fail to encourage them and exhort them not to forget their primary reason for commitment, which is first and foremost to be with the Lord before accomplishing great things.
All these celebrations were made possible after six days of spiritual retreat led by the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Koudougou, Monsignor Alexandre Yikyi BAZIE. On the theme ‘Witnesses of Hope and Promoters of Life,’ the prelate recalled the theological and scriptural foundations of Hope, the environment in which Hope is witnessed, before exhorting the fifty Brothers not to despair, because our living hope is itself a witness to those who have lost Hope.
Earlier, on the morning of 18 July, there was a day of fraternity, during which the various communities and works of the Province presented their reports. A general reading of the reports gave us cause to give thanks to God. Although there are still challenges to be met, the provincial community recognised that these limitations should not undermine the efforts already made. At the end, the community appointed a trio consisting of Brothers Ignace OUEDRAOGO, Paul SANYAN and Bonaventure YOUGBARE to identify the points that require special attention in order to stop the spiral of challenges in our communities and works.
