God, in His infinite goodness, willed the mission of the Missionary Sisters of the Catholic Apostolate (Pallottines) in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Today we celebrate thirty years of presence, and twenty-five years of the community of Keshero in Goma.
The Jubilee celebration held on 8 November 2025 in Keshero was a moment of great joy and thanksgiving, but above all a celebration of God’s faithfulness to his children as they have succeeded one another in this mission over the years. His Excellence Bishop Willy Ngumbi Ngengele, the Lordship of Goma Diocese surrounded by many priests and consecrated people from different congregations, not to mention lay people, came to witness this event in Saint Kizito Parish where Holy Mass was celebrated. Afterwards, a solemn meal and different witnesses were shared at Pallottine Fathers’ Formation Centre.
The event we experienced was also a celebration of God’s mercy and love, which were manifested towards our religious family working in this region. The latter has been almost perpetually characterized by insecurity, but the divine protection was always upon us.
Given the context at the beginning of this mission, when our first Rwandan sister, Sister Marie Goretti Nyabyenda, arrived in Congo as a refugee in 1994, we can only marvel at how the seed sown in pain has grown into a large tree from which we now reap the fruits of joy: the 25th of Jubilee and 30th anniversary of our mission. From this experience, we better understand an African adage that says that God writes straight on crooked lines, as the Provincial Superior, Sister Angeline Kambugu, pointed it out in her speech.
The late Bishop Faustin Ngabu supported and assisted this small Pallottine female presence until, at a certain point, when Sister Marie Goretti Nyabyenda wanted to return to her country once calm had been restored, he asked Father Kantor Wieslaw, a Pallottine missionary of Polish origin who was at that time on mission in Saint Aloys Parish in Rutshuru where Sister Marie Goretti was, to convince her to stay because the mission in which she was engaged needed her presence and that of the other Pallottine Sisters. So, Sr Marie Goretti stayed, Sr Orencja Zak from Poland joined her, and thus the mission was born in Congo. Six years later, Keshero community was opened, and today we are celebrating twenty-five years!
Yes, twenty-five years is a generation, a child who has become an adult, a seed that has grown into a tree, as our Superior General, Sister Josephina D’Souza, so aptly put it in her message on this occasion, in which she also emphasized that this jubilee is not simply a celebration but a door opening onto the future, a renewed reminder of the creativity of charity. Quoting Pope Francis, she reminded us that the future of the mission belongs to those who have the courage to imagine a Church that goes forth, a Church that walks, gets dirty, gets tired, but continues to love. She encouraged us to love even if love costs us something.
Supported by our three Pastors who have succeeded one another in the Diocese of Goma, namely Bishop Faustin Ngabu, Bishop Théophile Kaboy and Bishop Willy Ngumbi Ngengele, the Pallottine Sisters carry out their mission in the spirit of sentire cum ecclesia. They are wholeheartedly committed to the mission of the Church with humility and a discreet and silent presence, as it was expressed by Bishop Willy in his words of encouragement.
In any case, the Congregation will grow and will be blessed by God, emphasized Father Eugène Niyonzima, SAC, Provincial Rector of the Pallottine Fathers of the Holy Family Province when he took the floor. He went on to urge the Pallottine Sisters of Our Lady of Kibeho Province to keep alive the backbone of the mission, which is charity, reminding us of what Saint Vincent Pallotti said: woe to those who would try to hurt love within the Union, but blessed are those who strive to keep it in a perfect state… he will have the merit of eternal life. Let us work tirelessly to keep this treasure intact, remembering to always move forward with renewed apostolic zeal.
May God bless all those who accompanied this mission until now, starting by all ecclesiastical authorities, all Major Superiors of our Congregation to all our collaborators.
Text: Sr. Liberata Niyongira, SAC
Photos: Bienvenu