Midwest Province Granted Worldwide Vincentian Award
for the Emmaus Program in Nairobi, Kenya
In an announcement in July 2007, Father G. Gregory Gay, C.M., Superior General of the Congregation of the Mission, announced that the Midwest Province had been granted one of five Vincentian Mission Awards for its Emmaus Program in Nairobi, Kenya.
An excerpt of Father Gay’s letter to the worldwide Vincentian Family announcing the award is presented below.
To the members of the Congregation of the Mission
Dear Brothers,
May the grace and peace of Our Lord Jesus Christ fill your hearts now and forever!
On this the Feast of Saint Justin De Jacobis, a missionary par excellence, I announce to the worldwide Congregation the five projects that were granted the Mission Award for 2007.
History:
The Emmaus Program for Diocesan Priests fits the creative programs for the ongoing formation and education of diocesan clergy in mission territories. The Emmaus Program was created by confreres and is directed by confreres of the Kenya Mission, but in collaboration with religious and laypersons.
The Program addresses the four pillars of formation for priests in missionary territories: human, spiritual, intellectual, and apostolic. The project dovetails with the charism and purpose of the Congregation of the Mission: to help the clergy in their formation and lead them to a fuller participation in the evangelization of the poor. The Program aims at providing ongoing formation for these poor priests to be better priests in their ministry to the poor.
The Emmaus Program for Diocesan Priests is now in its fourth year. Vincentians of the Kenyan Mission direct the program three times a year. Over 200 priests have attended the program.
The Program began as a response to the call of Kenyan bishops that Vincentians reach out to their priests, many alone and lonely, scattered throughout the desolate areas of Kenya.
Members of the Congregation of the Mission understand that seminary formation and education alone are not enough to form good priests in missionary areas. The opportunities for these priests after ordination are scarce. While the Emmaus Program once focused on the Ecclesiastical Province of the Archdiocese of Nairobi, it has now expanded to include priests of other Ecclesiastical Provinces.
At a recent episcopal meeting (2007), bishops voiced concern and desire that their priests be afforded opportunities for ongoing formation and education. The facts are: the Emmaus Program has been received with great acclamation by the priest participants, and it has proved its effectiveness, value, and credibility over the four years of existence. Additionally, a greater number of Kenyan bishops desire their priests to participate in future programs.
Goals:
To provide an integrated series of seminars in a reflective, spiritual setting; thus enabling diocesan clergy to engage in formation and ongoing development.
To encourage personal holiness, increase priestly support and morale, and assist in improving ministerial competence in missionary areas.
Objectives:
To encourage continued growth in diocesan priestly spirituality.
To provide theological and scriptural updating in the African context.
To offer pastoral updating to assist clergy to effectively engage in evangelization, pastoral and liturgical ministry, and human promotion.
To provide administrative assistance in areas of parish organization, Church personnel, and finances.
To foster the healthy social life of the priest for mutual support, encouragement, and the sense of priestly fraternity.
I ask the Lord to pour out his blessings on all those who have worked to develop these projects for the evangelization of the poor. May your good work continue and inspire others to do the same.
Your brother in St. Vincent,
G. Gregory Gay, C.M.
Superior General
A Call for You
In the past, the Association has helped American missionaries in Taiwan or Kenya and
other worldwide missions of the Vincentians. If you would like to make a donation to help
the foreign missions continue their good work, you can do so by contacting the Association.
It is an opportunity for you to answer Christ's call to "make disciples of all nations."
Jesus said to his disciples, "But when the Son of Man comes,
will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8) Vincentian missionaries bring the faith to the
remotest and poorest places of the earth. And you can help them.
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