Society of African Missions
The Society of African Missions (SMA Fathers) is a Roman Catholic missionary organization.[1] Its members come from around the world with a commitment to serve the people of Africa and those of African descent.
The Society was founded in 1856 by Bishop Melchior de Marion Brésillac with the blessing of Pope Pius IX.[2][3] The initials refer to the name in Latin: Societas Missionum ad Afros.[4]
The Society is not a religious institute, as its members, whilst taking a promises of obedience and celibacy (required of most being ordained in the Latin Rite branch of the Catholic Church) do not take one concerning poverty.
The members of the Society of African Missions – priests, brothers and lay missionaries - strive to be a living witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the sixteen countries in Africa where they are present and among people of African heritage wherever they live.
In keeping with their founder's goal of preserving the culture of African peoples, the US Province of the SMA maintains the African Art Museum in its headquarters in Tenafly, New Jersey, one of five maintained by the Society.
For most of its history, the majority of the Society's members came from Europe or North America. Africans who were interested in the Priesthood were discouraged from joining the Society and directed towards their own dioceses. This approach changed, paricularly in the 1980s and since that time the vast majority of vocations have come from Africa and Asia.
The international administrative headquarters is in Rome.
As of 2011, there were:
- 6 Provinces: Britain, Ireland, Italy, Lyon, the Netherlands and the USA.
- 3 Districts: Canada, Spain and Strasbourg
- 6 Districts in Formation: Bay of Benin (Benin, Central African Republic, Nigeria); Great Lakes (Central Africa); Gulf of Guinea (Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Togo); India; Philippines and Poland. The Society's website recorded 944 members.[5]
[edit] External links
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ IN A WORD A MONTHLY PUBLICATION FOR AND ABOUT AFRICAN AMERICAN CATHOLICS
- ^ US Province: Our History
- ^ Darley Dale, Francesca Maria Steele (1903). Monasteries and Religious Houses of Great Britain and Ireland:. Original from the New York Public Library: Benziger bros.. pp. Page 209. http://books.google.com/books?id=MMAQAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA209&dq=%22Society+of+African+Missions%22&as_brr=1&ie=ISO-8859-1.
- ^ Society of African Missions, Irish Province
- ^ Generalate website: Our History
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