Luanda, 05 February, 2026 / 6:37 pm (ACI Africa).
Members of the Regional Conference of Major Superiors of Southern Africa (RCMSSA) reaffirmed their resolve to continue strengthening the effectiveness and witness of consecrated life in response to the challenges that both society and Consecrated life faces in the region.
In a statement issued on Monday, February 2 at the conclusion of their second Plenary Assembly, members of the RCMSSA highlight deficiencies in initial, ongoing, and specialized formation, and “a limited number of adequately prepared and available formators” as some of the challenges confronting Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL) in the region.
They further express concern over “the lack of means for community self-sustainability and for mission” and “insufficient concern for elderly consecrated persons,” alongside what they describe as “a certain relativization of the physical and mental health of consecrated men and women.”
In statement sent to ACI Africa on Thursday, February 5, the members of the regional body say that after “intense work of study, listening, and discernment”, they also took note of key societal challenges such as “the proliferation of sects and religious pluralism, poverty, corruption, social inequalities, tribal conflicts, ecological problems, institutional fragilities, migration and human trafficking, and digital exclusion.”
In response to the challenges, delegates at the six-day event that ended on February 2 recommend concrete steps aimed at the renewal and strengthening of consecrated life, including “strengthening the integral formation of consecrated persons” and “continuing to implement the guidelines contained in Laudato si’.”
