A congress will be held in 2026 to gather members of the world Oblate charismatic family. A Committee ad hoc was set up to prepare for this meeting of 40 religious and secular associations identified to date. In the Province of Congo (DRC – Angola), the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate (O.M.I.), the Congregation of the Sisters of the Holy Family of Bordeaux and the Secular Institute of the Missionary Oblate Cooperatives of the Immaculate (C.O.M.I.) are on the list with the Missionary Association of Mary Immaculate (A.M.M.I.), bringing together lay members.
Like « Pilgrims of Hope in Communion »
The Committee ad hoc thus explains the validity of the approach initiated by the General Administration of the Oblates of Mary Immaculate:
« At our 37th General Chapter, we have been deeply reflecting on the theme of « Pilgrims of hope in communion » and we are also delighted that all the universal Church is preparing to celebrate the Jubilee Year 2025 almost on the theme « Pilgrims of Hope ». All this makes us realize the spirit in which God guides us and wants us to go forward as a congregation with others. In addition, the various preparations and sessions of the Synod on Synodality convened by Pope Francis call us to walk together with others towards our heavenly Father with Faith, Hope and Charity, as we continue to « extend our tents » as many as possible. Attentive and humble to the voice of the Spirit of God, Fr. Luis Ignacio, Superior General and his team wish to bring together all religious and secular associations linked to Oblate charism in a « charismatic family » ».
Objectives
Three objectives have already been identified for this meeting:
- 1. to know each other by sharing each other's stories of life and mission (how many of us are related to Oblate charism),
- 2. to appreciate and celebrate our mission as different entities in the Church and in the world, and to realize the points of convergence, and
- 3. research the Oblate charism and the mission of everyone.
Memorandum of « congress on charisma »
A World Congress on the « Oblate charism in context » held from 29 June to 3 July 2015. While the practice of video conferencing was still uncommon and especially technically difficult for many regions, the Oblate family had succeeded in this experience which would deserve to be called a certain « synodality ». « A Congress, a Challenge for Charism » This was done at eight sites due to two per continent.
The scholasticate Saint Eugene de Mazenod of Kinshasa had thus received French-speaking participants from Africa from Senegal, Cameroon-Nigeria, the DRC and Angola. The physical presence of delegates from Madagascar had been lacking due to immigration difficulties.
Kinshasa counted as follows: Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate, Missionary Oblate Cooperatives of the Immaculate, lay members of the Missionary Association of Mary Immaculate and members of the Missionary Fraternity of the Holy Family, founded by the Congolese Oblate Benoît Kabongo (1933-2020).
The next congress of the « charismatic family » will be an opportunity for some to evaluate the 2015 congress.
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