On this sixth day of the SMA-OLA seminar, the participants experienced an extraordinary day. After 5 days at the Brésillac Centre, the sisters and fathers went on a pilgrimage with some very significant stops. The first was at the house of the OLA sisters in Hevié, where some of the older sisters live. It was a precious moment of reunion, filled with anecdotes, blessings and advice especially for the younger generation. Sister Justine Dzifa strongly exhorted to "obedience and love for the apostolate".
Sister Jeanne d'arc Ayité said: "I don't have much to do.
I continue to pray, especially for those in charge, so that God may help them to manage the institute, together with the young people, for the spiritual and temporal good of our congregation.
The procession then set off for the Saint Gall Seminary, following in the footsteps of Mgr Louis Parisot, who lived until his death in this important place of priestly formation. The Saint Gall Seminary in Ouidah, Benin, was founded by the SMA in 1914.
The day was sanctified by the celebration of the Eucharist, presided over by our elder Fr Michel Bonemaison, at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Ouidah. It was a special moment, like history repeating itself. It is easy to imagine that the SMA Fathers and the OLA Sisters have met several times around this altar of the Basilica, since its foundation in 1909, a few years after the arrival of the first SMA and OLA missionaries.
The participants then disembarked at the beach to relive the arrival of the SMA Fathers: Borghero and Fernandez in 1861 and the NDA Sisters: Monique, Cyprien and Dominique in 1877. The outing allowed everyone to get a better understanding of our common history. This SMA-OLA seminar is far from being a new imagination. Today's outing showed that there is a great sign to be grasped. The journey has only just begun.
Pierre-Paul DOSSEKPLI
