The rise of fraternities in Africa

Cameroun

Lay fraternities were formed around the communities of Ursulines of Jesus in Bafia in 2005, Mokong in 2006, Ouzal in 2007, Yaoundé and Ngaoundéré in 2008. The Sisters of the Immaculate created Fraternities in Bokito and Yangben. The delegates to the Chavagnes International Week in 2010 stimulated their great vitality. At each meeting, new members arrive and the desire remains to see other cells of the Incarnation sprout.

In each location, meetings are monthly, sometimes rotating to members' homes. The “entrance doors” are a precious help to reflect and pray from the Word of God. “The apostolic exhortation for Africa” is one of the documents read together to experience the Incarnation in the Cameroonian context.

The holidays are enjoyed together: on December 8, 2011, the Brotherhood of Bafia went to join the Sisters of the Immaculate and the Christians of Bokito.

Happy events (religious professions, weddings and baptisms, professional promotions) are occasions for gatherings. Unfortunate events (attack, bereavement) are experienced as a family for mutual support through prayer, friendship and concrete solidarity.

The groups looked for ways to fund the national fund and participate in the international operations of the Family of the Incarnation: this is how in Ngaoundéré, syrups and powders based on ginger and lemon are made by members of the Family and placed in various points of sale.

The Family of the Incarnation has adopted the custom of sharing with the poor: in Ngaoundéré, the “Christmas with the poor” operation brought together 70 people for a meal offered by the fraternity, the children received toys. In Bafia, members of the fraternities went to the homes of some destitute people where they prayed and handed over provisions. This work of charity is carried out during the Feast of the Annunciation by reaching out to the sick in the neighborhoods.

During the February 2011 meeting in Ngaoundéré, the animation team was formed with the choice of the delegate of the laity of Cameroon to form the national core, according to the resolutions taken in Chavagnes.

Burkina Faso

It was in 2001 that lay people were invited by the IMF to study the “school of the Incarnation” in the mutual attention and faith demonstrated by their prayer.

The Brotherhood of Bissinghin organized a Lenten march to the Marian shrine of Yagma a few kilometers from the parish. After a teaching time on Ash Wednesday with a text from Benedict XVI, everyone was able to read two letters from Father Baudouin written for the nuns on June 8, 1828 and December 8, 1830 and discover their relevance for prayer and spiritual combat today.

The sharing of the Eucharist meal continued with the collection for an old man abandoned in the village of the victims.

Madagascar

Within each community of Sisters of the Immaculate, there is a Fraternity of the Immaculate! That makes 7 groups.

And despite the distances and communication difficulties, each of the groups was visited by the Family animation team: as soon as a favorable opportunity presented itself, they made their rounds.

Delegates to the 2010 International Week passed on the experience they had in Chavagnes and Niort. They came with photos and videos… but also with documents translated into Malagasy. What work! The delegates undertook to give each group the texts received in France:

• the letters of the founders (Fr. Baudouin and Fr. Pécot) read and prayed in Chavagnes,
• the teachings of Father Marcel Berthomé “A hidden God…”
• and the main points of the presentation “Opening to the world” by sociologist M. Aganzo.
• Even the song of Father Gaëtan de Courrèges “Since God took flesh in his son” exists in a 5th language and becomes the anthem of the Family of the Immaculate.

The following efforts were requested from the 7 groups:

• Meditate on the mystery of the Incarnation and live the Incarnation better on a daily basis.
• Better understand and better truly live Marie on a daily basis.
• Read the letter from Father Baudouin of March 21, 1825.