History of Fransalians in Mozambique (Celebrating 25 years of presence in Moçambique). скачать в хорошем качестве

History of Fransalians in Mozambique (Celebrating 25 years of presence in Moçambique).

MISSIONARIES OF ST. FRANCIS DE SALES The Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales, known as Fransalianos, will celebrate 25 years of presence in Mozambique in 2025. Foundation and First Missions On October 31, 1996, His Eminence Cardinal Alexandre dos Santos, Archbishop of Maputo, Mozambique, addressed a request to Rev. Fr. Emile Mayoraz, Superior General of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales, requesting the sending of missionaries to his archdiocese. The Superior General entrusted the request to the Province of Nagpur, India, to assume responsibility for missionary activities in Mozambique. Fr. Joseph Pottemmel, Provincial Superior of Nagpur, accepted this missionary challenge. After an analysis and an initial visit, in 1999 he managed to organize a team to be sent to Mozambique. The first group of three missionaries, composed of Fathers Melroy Almeida, Sebastian Annaikandathil, and Mathews Kodamullil, arrived in Maputo (capital of Mozambique) on January 4, 2000. After three months of pastoral insertion in the parishes of Our Lady of Victories (Malhangalene), Our Lady of Amparo (Matola), and Saint Michael the Archangel (Manhiça), the Cardinal officially entrusted the pioneers with the Matutuíne Mission—a vast, isolated rural area without good roads or means of transport, where the population had been deprived of clerical presence for many years. The mission aimed to re-evangelize, promote social development, renew pastoral work, and invest in education. The first mission officially began in Bela Vista on April 28, 2000, with the creation of the new Saint Francis de Sales Parish of Bela Vista and the construction of the parish house. From this location, the missionaries expanded to Katembe, taking over the Parish of Our Lady of Mercy on April 29, 2003, and later to Matola, where, in 2005, the Minor Seminary “Casa Fransaliana” was inaugurated, which today is the Regional House of the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales in Mozambique. With the growth of the missionary presence, new initiatives emerged. The mission expanded to the Diocese of Inhambane, assuming the Mission of St. Anthony of Mavila on February 24, 2008. On October 24, 2009, the Mermier Home was inaugurated in Malhangalene, a new scholasticate intended for the theological formation of the brothers. Subsequently, on August 24, 2013, a community was opened in Ponta do Ouro. On October 11, 2017, a community was established in Dómuè, in the Diocese of Tete, taking over the Parish of Saint Peter Claver, which in 2023 split to form the new Parish of Saint Francis de Sales in Chipindu. On January 12, 2020, the Fransalians took over the Parish of Our Lady of Fatima in Muliquela, one of the Marian shrines of the Diocese of Gurúè. And the most recent fruit of the Fransalian expansion is the Minor Seminary of Saint Francis de Sales in Ka-Elisa, in the Archdiocese of Maputo, inaugurated on November 16, 2025, during the celebration of the closing of the silver jubilee of the Fransalian mission and presence in Mozambique.