NEW ACADEMIC YEAR IS HERE

        NEW ACADEMIC YEAR IS HERE

The new academic year 2017/18 started on the day of the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary on Tuesday 15^th August 2017. It was such a great and a colourful day for the arrival of all students and lecturers from the long holiday which was about 3 months. All students were happy to meet again and also meeting new friends, our beloved first years.

The day started with the opening mass which was presided over by Fr. Patrick Neary from Holy Cross Community, the chairman Board of Governors and Concelebrants, Rev. Fr George Nedumattam, the PCJ Rector from Claretian Community and Fr. Charles Okata, the new formator of the Mill Hill Missionary Formation House Jinja. The mass was animated by the Claretian Community, who made the mass lively by singing well as well as other parts of the liturgy. We thank them for the good work which they did. The mass was over to our mother Mary to intercede for the PCJ family in this new academic year and that all activities may go well during our stay at PCJ.

We welcomed our members who joined the PCJ family, the first years. We are grateful to see that people continue to desire to serve God as missionaries and we pray that our desire may be fulfilled. Our new members were 73 in number including four Holy Cross sisters. PCJ ongoing students (second and third years) welcome you and feel at home.

The Rector then gave us the PCJ programme for the new academic year and wished us all the best during the course of the year. After mass, there were short introductions for every class and finally the day ended well. It was really a great day and we continue to ask mother Mary, Queen of Apostles, to pray for us.

PCJ you are great we salute.

WILSON KARUGABA

 MILL HILL                                                                

                                                                                              

PCJ CULTURAL DAY'S SPEECH

Brothers, Sisters, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Today 28^th of February 2017, we gather together again for the PCJ Cultural day.  Allow to say a few things, before we begin. 

• What is it? The PCJ cultural day is one of our PCJ-family events. Briefly, the PCJ cultural day is a moment when the PCJ family celebrates the cultural diversity of its members. It is held every year, on ‘Shrove Tuesday’ - the Tuesday preceding Ash Wednesday. When people elsewhere are celebrating ‘carnevale”, here we celebrate the cultural day.

• What do we do?  Normally, students from different houses of formation present the different ‘traditional – cultural’ dances. We try to appreciate and respect each other’s culture. 

• What is the purpose? As with most of the things we do in this institute, the PCJ cultural day has a formative role. All the young people in this institute are training to become missionaries. They will spend a good part of their life, living and working in cultures other than their own. Now, before you go out, one of the aims of our educational program is to create a greater awareness of our cultural values and the need to preserve them. That is why this event should be taken as one more important item, in our educational program.

As in many aspects of life, a bit more could be done to improve our cultural day. Besides the traditional dances, perhaps some more events could be organized to increase the understanding of issues around cultural diversity. In that line, last year a suggestion was made - that the next cultural day should have a specific theme. That ‘next’ cultural day’ would have been this one. Such themes would have included: The traditional marriage, naming children, birth of twins, cleansing from curses, death and the funeral rites, witchcraft, politics and Human sexuality- in our traditional societies. Every one of these topics is very pertinent to our society today. There’s simply not enough time to do whatever we might dream about. It is already important that we can do this much. 

Lastly the student leaders who will take us through this event: Thank you very much.

Fr. Patrick Benywanira, MCCJ

Cultural Day Chaplain

"LAKU-KUBU" ACHOLI-LUO DANCE

The Acholi culture has multiple symbolic forms of expression. What the Luo group presented on PCJ cultural day is one of the aspects. It has been named “Laku-Kubu” deriving it from the way the instruments were played. The songs were sung and people dance around showing their happiness especially at marriages, graduation, remembering the deceased person and sometimes after harvesting crops where later people drink and relax.  

By Ouma

PCJ FOOTBALL WINNERS 2016-2017: MISSIONARIES OF AFRICA

PCJ MAGAZINE 2016-2017 LAUNCHING

As Frs Ronnie and Yago are leaving, they are given chance to hand to us the 24th issue of pcj voices. 

FAREWELL TO OUR DEPARTING LECTURERS

During the farewell function at PCJ we took time to give thanks to our five lecturers for the service offered.

PCJ WAY OF THE CROSS

SRC Chairman's Word

Shalom alehem!!

I am very happy to convey warm greetings on behalf of the entire PCJ Student”s body. I am so grateful for your cooperation and support. It is only by your support that we can serve our common home. In the light of the wisdom of the Holy Father Francis in his Encyclical letter Laudato Si, which he quotes from the second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Gaudium et spes 26, he emphasizes the relevance of our common good. This he defines as “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members a relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment”. I extend my sincere appreciation to the whole family for giving the first priority to the social wellbeing. Despite the cultural diversity, every person is granted equal opportunity to feel at home.

Glory to God by whose sufficient grace we remain focused in our search for the ultimate good. He enables us to freely interact and grow in this international and intercongregational consortium. Looking way back to the official request to the Electoral Board of PCJ, I sought to serve this fraternity with humility, reverence, diligence and dignity. I continue to supplicate the supreme being for his guidance that I may always remain intently focused on these virtues.

I extend my inestimable gratitude to the PCJ administrative team, formators, teaching and the non-teaching staff plus all the family friends for your sincere love, service and cooperation with the SRC-team. We have always harmoniously worked together for the betterment of the PCJ family. Together, we have successfully met the essence of the different events such as the social evening, seminar day, cultural day, Ash Wednesday, and Lenten recollection. The administrative team has also necessitated the growth of the PCJ family by welcoming new communities such as the Sisters of Mary Reparatrix. We now feel bigger, stronger and ready to cherish our unity in diversity, potentials and giftedness for our common good.

In the academic arena, we are only left with an individual task to yield the best expected fruits. The library is well equipped with the relevant sources for both historical and current questions of humanity. On this very platform, our formators generously contribute their parental and administrative love for our intellectual and spiritual growth. We are grateful to the lecturers who unceasingly render their service for our intellectual growth. The non teaching staff too has an invaluable and incomparable contribution towards our learning.

In the spirit of the fore fathers of the church and those who conceived the nature, aims and objectives of the PCJ family, we promise to keep the candle burning. May we readily continue to respond to Gods voice that daily cries to us through the, neglected, oppressed, victims of human trafficking and the voiceless. May we always be a worthy sacrifice to God that his mercy may continue to transform us and those around us.

TENYWA JOSEPH MICHEAL-SRC-2016-17.

IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE PIONEER MISSIONARIES IN UGANDA

Cekoroba introducing the main speaker

It was on the 9^th March, 2017 that a multitude of the PCJ – Philosophy Centre Jinja family congregated to reflect and meditate on the theme; “In the footsteps of the pioneer missionaries in Uganda.” The day was graced by the presence of the guest speaker, Fr. Richard Nyombi M.Afr. He was particularly introduced to commence the seminar by the rector of Lavigerie formation house-Jinja in the following manner: “I invite Fr. Richard Nyombi to take us into the beautiful reminiscence of our pioneer missionaries; Fr. Lourdel, Br. Amans and Mother Kevin, as we eventually project ourselves into the future which we hope will culminate in the beatification of those who have made the pearl of Africa to be known as the land of the martyrs” (Cekoroba, 2017).

This opening statement was so rich and informed of the seminar’s theme. The mention of the Platonic literary genre takes us not only to history but historicity which is paramount in any discipline; he also highlighted the on-going process of investigation on the worth of these three for beatification and finally echoed what Uganda is paired with – land of the martyrs. All these aspects are part and parcel of what constituted the theme in congruence to the guest speaker’s key agenda.

Fr. Richard Nyombi, M.Afr.

He began by reminding the assembly of the history of evangelization in Uganda, with the White Fathers establishing their presence in Central and Western part early in 1879, Mill Hill Missionaries in the East in 1895 and the Comboni Missionaries in the North much later in 1910. This informs us that the White Fathers are the architect of Catholic Christianity in Uganda. This does not discount the vigorous role of the other religious congregations not mentioned herein.

Extensive as it was, the theme was condensed into six significant points. History has it that “Uganda is the pearl of Africa” (W. Churchill). This has remained enshrined hitherto. What is new is that the missionary work of these pioneer missionaries has yielded fruits for the universal church – the martyrs, giving Uganda a new name as the “Pearl of Africa and Land of the martyrs.” With martyrdom as the cream of witness, Mapeera is reported to have exclaimed: “We no longer need to envy any other mission, Uganda has her own martyrs!”

Sister Leone (Little Sisters of 
Saint Francis) introducing the life of Mother Kevin

Fr. Richard, too, articulated on whether or not we need Saints in our milieu. With reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 828, we realize that saints play a pivotal role in our lives as intercessors and companions, examples and models of holiness and are the source and origin of renewal. What ensued was the life and works of Mapeera, Amans and Mother Kevin. Mother Kevin, who was invited to Uganda by a Mill Hill Prelate (based in Uganda) in 1903, has had a visible contribution. To mention but a few, she established a number of health units including Nzambia hospital and several schools to address health and literary needs of the natives. Above all, Mother Kevin founded the congregation of the Little Sisters of St. Francis traditionally known as Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa. Mapeera was gifted: he was a diplomat, linguistic and a doctor. He enjoyed good acquaintance with the Kabaka of Buganda and was his personal doctor and friend. In a way, he represented the Catholic missionaries to Uganda. Amans and Mapeera are inseparable. The name Mapeera is a Baganda twist from ‘mon pere’ as Amans used to call Lourdel, ‘my father’. Though he seemed to be in the background, his hands and feet were soiled in tending to the different demands of the people in the apostolate. Amans is reported to have been a missionary of good character that one of the Uganda martyrs, John Mary before his death spoke of him as follows: “I want to be like Brother Amans.” Historically, Br. Amans was the first religious in Uganda, and the first to take his missionary oath in Uganda.

Unity among Mill Hill, Missionaries of Africa and Little Sisters of Saint Francis
 during the Eucharistic celebration

The cause for the Beatification of Mapeera, Amans and Mother Kevin was part of the day’s package. The audience was invited to be involved in this fundamental process with the hope that by reflecting on the outcome of the lives of the pioneer missionaries in Uganda, we may take their faith as our model. The guest speaker concluded by inviting the assembly to be part in the pilgrimage, which he compared with the encounter between Jesus and the disciples of John the Baptist. In response to their demand of where he lives, Jesus told them to ‘Come and See.’ They went, saw and returned to give witness to others. This must be the same for our pioneer missionaries in Uganda; we should be in touch with their history, emulate their example and faith, and give witness through their intercession.   

LONGOLI MICHEAL
(Student of the Missionaries of Africa)

UTONGOI MUSEO (Missionaries of Africa's cultural performance)

PCJ Cultural Day is a souvenir occasion where its members get an opportunity to enjoy its cultural diversities. It takes place at the eve of the Ash Wednesday. This year, as a community, we had an opportunity to venture in Kamba culture, found in the Eastern of Kenya. The Kamba region comprise of three counties: Machakos, Makueni and Kitui counties. The population of the Akamba makes up approximately 11% of the total Kenyan population.

This years’ dance, entitled “Utongoi Museo,” meaning “Good Governance,” was performed in honour of the Kamba girl and who has good leadership qualities. It depicts the community aspect present in many of the African cultures, but in a special way with a lady as the leader of the community. The dance performed by the unmarried people was made to give thanks for the good leadership skills portrayed in a Kamba lady.

This was a greater opportunity for us to present the Kamba culture even outside the Akamba region.

URBANUS MUTUKU
(Missionaries of Africa)