Soeurs Missionnaires Notre Dame des Apotres - Missionary Sisters Our Lady of Apostles

The 28th of July marks the end of the historic 16th General Chapter of the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles. Indeed, this is how far the amazing grace of God has brought us, and we are so grateful to Him, the source of all things! It has been a breathtaking experience and a wonderful celebration of the OLA One Body. Every single day of the Chapter brought its own unique experience; an encounter that challenged us to celebrate where we have come from, and to rethink and reflect on where we are going on our missionary journey!

We spent the first half of the day evaluating our one month experience in the 'Upper Room', how we have encountered the Lord, what He has instructed us to do, and our preparedness to launch into the next five years. We were all happy with what we have achieved together, and could identify with the voice that sent us forth to go and bear witness to the ends of the earth.

The Superior General, Sr. Felicia HARRY, delivered a powerful closing address, which touched on every single aspect of the life that we have lived together in the past one month. She highlighted on the salient issues that transpired, after which she officially drew the curtain to close the XVI Chapter. In her final words she dismissed us with the theme of the Chapter which every OLA Sister is expected to live by its tenets in the next five years: "Women apostles, dare to be seeds of communion and hope".

The Closing Eucharistic Mass which followed was officiated by eight priests, mostly from the Society of African Missions (SMA). The Superior General of the SMAs, Rev. Fr. Facthna O'Driscoll, was the main celebrant. What did we do after the Eucharistic celebration? Your guess will be as good as mine! We entertained ourselves to some good African drumming and dancing and ended the day with sumptuous lunch.

Yes, the Chapter has ended but then, a fresh beginning is born; a new phase of a prophetic missionary life is about to begin, with the Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Apostles.

May God, Mary the Queen of Apostles and Fr. Planque help us all!