“Consecrated Life is not a career... it’s a living parable”: Angolan Bishop to Major Superiors in Southern Africa

Luanda, 29 January, 2026 / 3:09 PM

The President of the Episcopal Commission for the Clergy and Consecrated Life of the Bishops' Conference of Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe (CEAST) has cautioned against reducing Consecrated Life to a professional trajectory or a position of authority, insisting instead that it must be lived as “a living parable” marked by total self-gift to God and others.

In his homily during the opening Mass of the Second Assembly of the Regional Conference of Major Superiors of Southern Africa (RCMSSA), Bishop Leopoldo Ndakalako framed Consecrated Life as a radical form of Christian witness rather than an institutional role. 

“Consecrated life is not a career. It is a sacrament of coherence and fidelity to God. It is a living parable,” the Local Ordinary of Menongue Catholic Diocese said in his Tuesday, January 27 homily at the Mama Muxima Spirituality Center of his Episcopal See. 

Bishop Ndakalako further emphasized the depth of commitment required, adding, “Consecrated life is not merely a religious profession; it is an offered existence.”

The President of the Episcopal Commission for the Clergy and Consecrated Life of CEAST challenged members of the Institutes of Consecrated Life and the Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL) to renewed fidelity and authentic service amid the pastoral and social realities that the people of God in the region are confronting.

He warned against equating consecration with status, power, or visibility within Church structures. “Consecrated Life is not a status; it is transparency, a life of sacrifice, a life given entirely to God and to brothers and sisters,” Bishop Ndakalako emphasized.

In a direct appeal to personal witness, he underscored the evangelical dimension of consecration, stating, “The Consecrated Person is called to be the Gospel in the flesh.” 

For him, this embodied witness is essential if Consecrated Life is to remain credible and transformative in contemporary African societies marked by inequality, suffering, and moral uncertainty.

By grounding his message in the language of gift, sacrifice, and coherence, the Angolan Catholic Bishop presented Consecrated Life as a visible sign of the Gospel – one that derives its meaning not from function or rank, but from faithful and selfless witness.

Bishop Ndakalako also addressed contemporary challenges linked to contemporary technology and Artificial Intelligence (AI), cautioning against their misuse when they replace discernment or reduce the human person to data.

“Consecrated Life in Africa today must be a living memory of the primacy of the person,” the Catholic Church leader said.

He continued, “We live in an era in which algorithms choose, recommend, filter, and decide. We are children of our time. Artificial intelligence is not an enemy of faith, but it becomes dangerous when it replaces discernment, when it automates conscience, when it reduces the person to data.”

“In a world that calculates, we must contemplate. In a world that accelerates, we must discern. In a world that consumes, we must safeguard and preserve. In a world that measures, we must love,” the Local Ordinary of Menongue Diocese said.

Calling Consecrated Life a “living parable” and “an existence fully offered to God and to others,” the Catholic Church leader urged  ICLSALmembers to return to the “Galilee of vocation,” where their initial call began. 

He encouraged them to transform structures into spaces of discernment and to live their vocation with authentic joy, noting that sadness in a Consecrated Person is a counter-witness to the Gospel.

“This Regional Conference is therefore called to form Consecrated Persons capable of dialoguing with technology without losing the soul of Consecrated Life,” Bishop Ndakalako said.

He added, “This Regional Conference must be a critical conscience, organized hope, communal prophecy, and boldness for a better future.”

The January 27 to February 3 assembly is holding under the theme “Consecrated for the mission, walking together in hope and communion,” with the subtheme “Memory, identity, and discernment for the future.” 

Also speaking during the January 27 event, RCMSSA President, Fr. Joaquim José Luís Pedro, underscored the importance of walking together in communion and hope, noting that the mission of the conference is to “open common paths that no institute could travel alone.”

Fr. Pedro recalled that there are paths that only emerge when many walk together. 

He explained that communion makes it possible to “overcome obstacles, create new paths, and strengthen the mission of consecrated life in the region, opening ways of discernment, hope, and unity.”