Sisters of St. Louis renew commitment to religious life

It was a great reunion for the Sisters of St. Louis Nigerian Province hav­ing suspended the 2020 assembly owing to the COV­ID-19 pandemic lockdown globally, including Nigeria. e General Assembly and debriefing of the general chap­ter held in November, 2021 kicked off simultaneously in the three zones of the prov­ince, comprising the Northern zone in Gwagwalada, Akure and Ibadan zones in the South West of Nigeria.

The Abbe Bautain retreat and the Catechetical Centre, Ijebu Itele hosted the Ibadan areas, which had Sisters from Lagos, Ibadan, Ijio, Iseyin and the Re­public of Benin as participants.

The debriefing of the assem­bly coordinator by the Provin­cial leader, Sr. Christiana Kure discussed issues of the general chapter of the Congregation earlier held in Ghana in Sep­tember. According to the del­egates’ report to the chapter, among the far reaching recom­mendations for all, is to listen and respond to the ‘cry of the earth, the cry of the poor, eco­logical economics, adoption of a simple lifestyle, ecological education, ecological spiritual­ity, and community involve­ment as contained in the Pope Francis’ Seven year “Laudato Si” platform.

The general assembly holds annually where the Sisters of St. Louis come together as one family to deliberate on issues affecting the Congre­gation, review their goals and expectations as religious and to remind themselves of the mission entrusted to them by God as found in the gospel of St. John 17: 21 “at they may be one” and also their charism “Sint Unum” as an institute of religious body as well as their evangelical counsels; the vow of chastity, poverty and obe­dience.

This year’s programme began with opening prayer with all the Sisters present, led by the Provincial leader, Sr. Chris­tiana Kure. e Sisters were divided into groups for the spiritual exercise of faith shar­ing, prayer sessions as well as discussions bordering on com­munity life and mission.

In all, the area assembly was highly enriching, informative and educative, with each day starting with Holy Mass, talks, recreation such as riddles and jokes, march past, cultural dis­play and drama.

Finally, the sisters were ‘mis­sioned back’ to the world by the provincial leader, Sr. Chris­tiana Kure with the Chapter document and the closing ritual backed with the words of God “at they may be one”.