All Set for Maiden Research Symposium on Religious Life in Africa, Opportunity to Share “fresh findings, experiences”

She added, “Through dialogue with participants, we will identify challenges, share learnings and explore opportunities to implement practical and impactful interventions for the enhancement of evangelization.”

The Kenyan Catholic Nun said that the symposium, the first of its kind, will showcase the significant contributions of Catholic Sisters to various ministries and sectors not only in Africa, but also in other parts of the world, where Consecrated women are engaged in research.

Credit: ACI Africa

Participants in the three-day symposium are to present their experiences in religious formation, education, pastoral care, healthcare, care for the elderly, and other social services.

The symposium, Sr. Candida told ACI Africa, also “seeks to foster innovative approaches that enhance and deepen Religious Life, provide educational opportunities, and improve project effectiveness.”

The member of the Congregation of the Assumption Sisters of Nairobi (ASN) said that the symposium further aims to inspire capacity-building initiatives and invigorate efforts to address contemporary challenges the Church and society face.

Credit: ACI Africa

“Through this dialogue, participants will identify challenges, share learnings, and explore opportunities to implement practical and impactful interventions,” she said.

CERRA-Africa is the organization behind the groundbreaking investigation into the situation of aging Catholic Sisters in Africa that revealed the urgent need for women Religious on the continent to prepare for old age.

The findings of the investigation led to the establishment of networks to consolidate caregiving efforts of member ICLSAL in African countries, where the study was conducted.

Credit: CERRA-Africa

In the May 15 interview, Sr. Candida told ACI Africa that representatives of these networks, including the Care for Aging Sisters Association of Kenya (CASAK), have been invited to share their experiences at the symposium.

Participants from similar caregiving networks from Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, and Ghana, where CERRA-Africa conducted the study into ageing Sisters will also take part in the June 10-12 symposium, she said.

Other invited to participate in the symposium is the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, which has partnered with CERRA-Africa since its establishment in 2020 to support Catholic Sisters dedicated to gathering and analysing critical information related to the sustainability of Religious Life and apostolates.

CERRA-Africa that collaborates with CUEA, the Association of Sisterhoods of Kenya (AOSK), and Tangaza University has also invited the U.S.-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate (CARA-USA) and other religious-led data centres from Cameroon, Mexico and India to share their experiences during the planned three-day symposium.

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Credit: ACI Africa

Also invited to participate is the education department of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) and several higher learning institutions in the Kenyan capital city, Nairobi.

Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary of Education has also been invited to talk about the contribution of Catholic Sisters to the sector. The Apostolic Nunciature in Kenya will also participate in the symposium.

Catholic Sisters involved in research will be making presentations of their services on the theme of the symposium, “Consecrated Women Religious in Africa: Creating a Global Impact on Sustainable Development”.

“We will allow Sisters who have done some papers on Religious Life and ministries in the parishes or in the health sector or in the pastoral sector, wherever they are working, to present their papers in the breakout rooms and to bring the results to the main panel for discussion,” Sr. Candida told ACI Africa.

The Kenyan ASN member and researcher said that by collaborating with CARA-USA and representatives of other global data centers from across the globe, CERRA-Africa is poised ready to learn from the best.

Credit: CERRE-Africa

She recalled that from only serving the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), CARA-USA has expanded its reach. “60 years later, CARA-USA’s services have spread to Priests, with the Dioceses, Parishes, depending on the needs that are there.”

CERRA-Africa started by serving the needs of ICLSAL, Sr. Candida told ACI Africa, divulging that today, the centre has started talks with Catholic Episcopal Sees and Parishes in view of realizing collaborative empirical studies.

In the May 15 interview, Sr. Candida also spoke to ACI Africa about which ministries in Africa require more presence of Catholic Sisters, basing her arguments on what she had observed in the investigations that CERRA-Africa conducted.

Noting that there are many contemporary issues that require the attention of Catholic Sisters, she said, “At this point in time, we are needed so much to work alongside other agents of evangelization in the pastoral care and social services.”

Credit: ACI Africa

“We had three traditional areas that Catholic Sisters always focused on. There was pastoral care, there was education, and there was health,” the Kenyan Nun told ACI Africa, adding, “Now we have other issues that are coming up that require our presence. This includes the youth ministry.”

She continued, “Even as governments struggle to address their huge youth populations, our presence as Sisters must also be felt in helping these young ones navigate their youthfulness.”

The Nairobi-based CERRA-Africa Directress urged ICLSAL in Africa to also build their ministries and apostolates around the contemporary issues of mental health, human trafficking, the safeguarding of minors and vulnerable adults, and gender-based violence (GBV) among other emerging phenomena.