Peace of Christ!
Over the past week, the community here in Kimwenza has been a beehive of activity. First, we officially welcomed the new scholastics into the community on Thursday, 26th of October. The event started with a mass that was celebrated by the rector, Fr. Modeste Modekamba, SJ. In his homily, he encouraged the new scholastics to ”have their own experience” of Canisius and encouraged us all to ‘‘be Christians!” The mass was followed by an evening social around the swimming pool where we gathered to share the richness of our life in Canisius.
Also, the community had a visit from the Provincial of Africa North West (ANW) Province, Fr. John Ghansah, who came for the canonical visit of the companions for the ANW province. During his stay with us, we had a chance to meet with him as a community on the evening of 27th October. He shared with us his experience as a Jesuit, having studied philosophy here. Further, he emphasized the importance of being open to many experiences in the Society of Jesus. He also challenged us to think and ponder about our apostolates in the continent and how we can run them today given that many of them were started by missionaries in different social contexts that have since changed. Lastly, the provincial also called on the scholastics to have a universal view of the society of Jesus and have a futuristic look and mind.
Finally, L’Université Loyola du Congo officially opened the 2023 – 2024 academic year on Saturday, 28th October. The day began with an opening discourse on “The impact of electrical and electronic wastes on agriculture and the environment.” It was delivered by Prof. Claude Lukombo. While noting the invaluable contributions of technology to agriculture and ecological management, he didn’t fail to caution us about the danger that electric and electronic items to the environment. The highlight of the discourse was the insistence on the challenge managing of electronic wastes by institutions and governments in Africa and the long-term effects that this has on our ecosystems. After the discourse and the launch of the new academic year, we proceeded to the Parish – St. Marie – for the mass of the Holy Spirit. It was celebrated by Bishop Jean-Crispin Kimbeni Ki Kanda of the Kisantu diocese. There was great participation from the students of various faculties in the university. In the afternoon, there were interfaculty basketball and football matches to celebrate our fraternity as a university.
We thank the Lord for all the grace he granted us in the past week. This week, the academic year enters week III.
