The Superior General, assisted by his Council, has the responsibility to govern and animate the Congregation.
The Superior General “confirms his fellow members in their Spiritan calling, in keeping with the sprit of the Founders and the living tradition of the Institute. He makes the unity among all Spiritans a reality. He assures the unity of all with the Church. He strives for the common good and the vitality of the Congregation.” (SRL 192)
“While respectful of its diversity, the General Council safeguards the unity of the Congregation. While making due allowance for subsidiarity, it watches over the work of the circumscriptions and their faithfulness to the Spiritan calling. It works for the growth of the Institute and promotes new initiatives in mission. It safeguards and encourages the solidarity between circumscriptions and also the international character of the Congregation, because these two bear witness to brotherhood and to community.” (SRL 198.1)
Fr. Alain Mayama was born in Congo Brazzaville in 1971. He did his initial formation, postulancy and philosophy at Daniel Brottier in Libreville, Gabon, noviciate at Mbalmayo in Cameroun and theology at SIST, Nigeria. He made his perpetual religious profession in 1999 and was ordained priest in 2000.
He began his missionary life in Cameroon as formator. During his doctoral studies at Duquesne in the USA, he was the chaplain of a hospital in Port Huron, Detroit, from 2007 to 2008. He continued his mission as a formator in Libreville, Gabon from 2008 to 2010. While still on mission, he was elected Provincial Superior of Congo Brazzaville, his Province of origin. He attended the General Chapter of Bagamoyo in 2012 as a delegate and was elected General Assistant.
It was providential that he was elected on 18th October, a day when the Church celebrates the feast of St. Luke, the Evangelist who dedicated his Gospel to the evangelization of the Gentiles (Luke 1:1-4) and from whom we have the opening words of the Spiritan Rule of Life: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, for He has anointed me, to bring the good news to the afflicted. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives, sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord” (Lk 4:18-19).
Fr. Jeffrey Duaime was born in the United States in 1958. He made his perpetual religious profession in 1985 and was ordained a priest in 1986.
He began his missionary life in Haiti in pastoral ministry. He then moved to the United States where he worked for eleven years in parish ministry and another eleven years in education. He was also in charge of the vocation office and Provincial of the Province of USA East. He was elected Provincial Superior of the Province of USA in 2012.
Fr. Jude Nnorom was born in Nigeria in 1968. He made his perpetual profession in 1993, and was ordained priest in 1994.
He began his missionary life in South Africa as parish priest, vocations promoter, director of the postulancy (2002-2004) and Master of Novices (2003-2004). He was appointed Superior of the South Africa Group in 2004, exercising this responsibility until 2010. He undertook peace studies at Notre Dame University, USA (2011-2012) and subsequently spent a year with Religious for Peace, a multi-Religious organization in consultation with the United Nations. He was appointed to be in charge of the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) Service and Inter Religious Dialogue of the Spiritans in Rome (2015-2018). He returned to South Africa to be part of an emerging project that is exploring the unique urbanization of Africa, with increasing informal settlements and slums, while serving as an interim Superior of the Group.
Fr. Philip Massawe was born in Tanzania in 1957. He made his perpetual profession in 1984 and was ordained priest in 1985.
He began his missionary life in Zambia, where he worked from 1985 to 1989. Between 1993 and 1999 he was the first Assistant of the Province of East Africa (EAP). Returning to Tanzania, he exercised various responsibilities, working first with the Maasai people (1999-2000), then as Rector of the Spiritan Seminary of Arusha (2000-2006). He was appointed by the General Council to be the Coordinator of Formation and Education in Rome (2006-2014), as well as Rector of Villa Notre Dame (2014-2016). He was elected Provincial Superior of Tanzania in 2017.
Fr. António Neves was born in Portugal in 1962. He made his perpetual religious profession in 1985 and was ordained a priest in 1989.
He began his missionary life in Angola in 1989 in formation and pastoral work. Upon his return to Portugal, he studied communication and political science and worked in missionary animation, youth ministry and social communication. He served first as Provincial Assistant before being appointed Provincial of Portugal between 2012 and 2018. He was then appointed to Rome as coordinator of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) and Interreligious Dialogue (DIR).
Fr. Marc Botzung was born in France in 1967, and made his perpetual religious profession in 1994. He was ordained a priest in 1995. He began his missionary life in Mauritania (formerly FANO), where he worked for eleven years. He also worked in France as a vocation animator for six years. At the request of the General Council, he served for eight years as Spiritan Coordinator for Islamic-Christian Relations. Elected Provincial of France in 2015, he held this missionary responsibility until 2021.
Fr. Albert Assamba was born in Cameroon in 1971. After his perpetual religious profession in 2005, he was ordained a priest in 2006. He began his missionary life in Yaoundé, in parish ministry. Assistant Provincial from 2011 to 2016, he was elected Provincial Superior of Cameroon in 2016.
Fr. Jean-Marc Sierro was born on the 28th of July 1958 in Switzerland. He studied theology in Fribourg where he obtained a Master in Theology. Ordained in 1988 he was appointed to the Republic of Central Africa where he did his missionary placement from 1979 to 1981. In 1992 he had to come home because of malaria. Since he could not go back immediately, he did his master’s degree at the University Institute of Development Studies in Geneva from 1992 to 1994, while engaging in Sunday ministry with the pastoral team in the parish of Carouge.
In 1994 he was appointed as bursar in the Province of Switzerland while being fully involved in all the affairs of the Congregation in the country. In parallel with this responsibility, he was for seven years a member of the theological commission Swiss Lenten Action. He was also lecturer at the at the department of Science of Religions of the Faculty of Letters of Fribourg University, where for 12 years he taught African culture and religion and gave courses on the important authors of sociology and religions and the methodology of scientific research. Together with other religious, he helped found the Swiss branch of the Africa-Europe Faith and Justice Network, of which he is still a member, as well as the Voyage-Partage group which arranges for young people to have an experience of mission for a period from three months to a year.
Since the beginning of 2015 he has been the General Bursar of the Congregation.
Born on 29/07/1965 in Ziguinchor in Senegal, after primary and secondary studies in his native country, Damien Meki began his Spiritan formation and became a “citizen of the world”. He studied philosophy in Bangui, Central African Republic, then in Libreville, Gabon and finally in Brazzaville, Congo. In 1987, he was admitted to the novitiate in Mbalmayo. On 8 September 1988, he made his religious profession in the Congregation. He continued his theological studies at SIST – Nigeria. He was ordained a priest on 18 July 1992. After his ordination, he was sent to France to study Philosophy and Theology at the University of Strasbourg. A few years later, he did specialized training in Dublin and then at Duquesne University in the United States.
As a missionary, Damien has worked in France, Gabon and Senegal; he has been in turn parish vicar, formator and university chaplain. Damien has taught at the Grand Séminaire Daniel Brottier in Libreville and at the Consortium Saint Augustin in Dakar. He has also been a lecturer in Philosophy at the ISTR in Marseille. Damien is fluent in French and English and his missionary experience in Africa, Europe and the United States, working in parishes, in houses of formation and in administration as provincial secretary in France is an advantage for this service that the congregation has entrusted to him.
Saint Jean Paul II a institué la Journée mondiale de la vie consacrée en 1996 pour répondre au besoin intime de louer plus solennellement le Seigneur et de le remercier pour le grand don de la vie consacrée, pour promouvoir la connaissance et l’estime de la vie consacrée par tout le peuple de Dieu et…
Le Conseil général a organisé, du 19 au 29 septembre 2022, une réunion de 17 nouveaux supérieurs spiritains. La dernière réunion de ce type remontait à mars 2019 et s’était terminée deux jours seulement avant l’annonce officielle de l’épidémie de COVID-19 et du confinement. Les 17 nouveaux supérieurs représentaient de nombreuses provinces et groupes différents…
Première phase : la Mission spiritaine
02 octobre 2022 – 02 octobre 2024
A l’occasion de la fête du Bienheureux Daniel Brottier, je veux écrire à toute la famille spiritaine; c’est un moment spécial pour la Congrégation.
L’ouverture officielle du Conseil général élargi il 22 juin 2025 par le P. Alain Mayama, Supérieur général,
Du 19 au 28 septembre 2017, quatorze nouveaux supérieurs spiritains se sont réunis à Rome pour une série de rencontres et de sessions de formation à leur nouvelle fonction.
Au cours des deux dernières années, nous avons réfléchi ensemble sur notre Mission Spiritaine et, espérons-le, chaque circonscription a pu évaluer ses engagements et préciser ses orientations missionnaires en fidélité à notre charisme et en accord avec les décisions de Bagamoyo II.
Le Conseil général lance ce 2 octobre 2024 la deuxième phase du Plan d’animation centré sur la spiritualité spiritaine. Il y a trois objectifs principaux qui renforceront notre vie et notre mission spiritaines : le renouvellement de notre prière personnelle et communautaire, la redécouverte de nos racines spiritaines et la promotion de la cause de nos fondateurs. Si nos fondateurs ont pu mener à bien leurs activités et leurs projets, c’est grâce à leur vie spirituelle, mettant Dieu au cœur de leurs activités et de leurs œuvres.
Du 22 juin au 5 juillet, plus de 50 Spiritains du monde entier, dont des membres du Conseil Général, des délégués élus et des fonctionnaires, se sont réunis à Chevilly-Larue, l’ancien scolasticat de la Province de France, en banlieue parisienne, pour le 9e Conseil général élargi (CGE) de la Congrégation, afin d’évaluer la mise en œuvre des décisions du Chapitre Général et d’étudier de nouveaux moyens de renforcer et de réaliser les objectifs de la Congrégation (RVS 205.3).
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