In 2009 the Assumptionists, under the leadership of Fr. Jean-Paul Sagadou, launched a new and ambitious initiative, called African Integration Trips (AIT). African Integration Tours are organized by the Youth Network for African Integration (YNAI) and are tours of inter-African cultural discovery. The main objective is to transmit to African and Afro-descendant youth the ideal of a plural, integrated and united Africa, in its religious, cultural and political aspects. The AITs have a strong educative and civil dimension. Every year, a tour tackles a specific theme and proposes to participants: training, workshops and conferences that include history, economics, entrepreneurship, the arts, humanities, etc.

Written by Cori Fugere Urban
Published in Diocesan /Vermont Catholic Magazine
Photo by Cori Fugere Urban/Vermont Catholic

Two men were ordained to the diaconate Feb. 11 at the Chapel of St. Michael the Archangel on the campus of St. Michael’s College in Colchester: one to the permanent diaconate for the Diocese of Burlington and one to the transitional diaconate as he prepares for priestly ordination as a member of the Society of St. Edmund, the order that founded the college.

Burlington Bishop Christopher J. Coyne ordained Philip J. Lawson to the permanent diaconate and Edmundite Brother Michael R. Carter to the transitional diaconate.

“Today, in this church, two roads are about to diverge: one road moving forward into the transitional diaconate, the witness of celibacy, and -- all things being equal -– ordination to the priesthood as a member of the Edmundite religious order, and the other road leading into the permanent diaconate, a continuing witness to the sacrament of marriage and the gift of family,” Bishop Coyne said in his homily after reading from “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost.

The first of this semester’s “Conversation’s at the Center” in Brighton addressed the topic of “Encountering Immigrants as Our Siblings in Christ.” The presenter was Danielle Huntley who shared her work with immigrants through the dual lens of being a professional lawyer and as a Catholic. A Lay Assumptionist, Danielle is the Principal of Huntley Inc., a full service immigration law firm in Boston.  In her presentation, Danielle masterfully led us through the complexities of this timely and complex specialty of immigration law. She successfully relieved the anxieties of many in our diverse community of religious, residents and invited guests and sees her work as living out the corporal work of mercy of receiving the stranger.  After fielding many questions, the animated discussions carried into the dining room and the sharing of a delicious brunch.

On January 16^th, 2017, a dream became a reality for the Assumptionists of the East African Region. After years of planning and recruiting, the doors of the new Assumption High School for Boys and Girls opened its doors. Rooms were being painted, floors swept, classrooms and kitchen equipped, security gates put in the place, books and offices arranged, shrubbery planted, blackboards installed right up until the last minute.

The school is located within the boundaries of the Assumptionist parish of St. Monica on the way to Nairobi’s international airport, and more specifically in the Katwa neighborhood where the Assumptionists maintain an outstation and the house for postulants. Fr. Ignatius SILIOLIO MATONGWA, who completed his M.A. in educational administration, has been named headmaster and Fr. Benard ODHIAMBO YALA the school’s treasurer. Both attended the Assumptionist international education congress. They expressed their gratitude for this gathering which helped them to understand better the fundamental characteristics of an education inspired by the educational vision of the Assumptionist founder, Venerable Emmanuel d’Alzon.

The Assumptionists run high schools, universities, and language centers on five continents, in ten countries.