When Our Lady appeared at La Salette, her words were addressed to the two unsuspecting children but also to all her people – that is, all the people of God. Her welcoming words were directed to Maximin and Melanie and her prophetic words of warning, spoken in formal French, were directed to all her people.
Their Church’s Sanctuary (from left): old and newShe then spoke in the patois of the area about the many concerns for her people. Then, after responding to Maximin’s forgetfulness about the event in the Field of Coin, she gave the children – and us – her mandate to make this messaged known to all her people.
In response to Mary’s final words, the La Salette Missionaries have continued to reach out to Mary’s people in many and varied countries. On July 17, 2016, they established a new mission in the Diocese of Bukoba in Tanzania.
As you can see by the accompanying pictures, the life of faith of the Tanzanian people is vibrant and hope-filled. In fact, we were asked specifically by the bishop to bring the needed witness of our religious charism to this fast-growing diocese.
As was cited in a previous article, the mission in Tanzania has a different character:
Bishop blesses new sanctuary with new tabernacleFirst, the diocese is not lacking priests to minister to the faithful because they still have the capacity to send priests for studies abroad and to assist other dioceses which are in need of their service.
Second, the majority of the population in the territory of the diocese is Catholic; and in fact, the region (Kagera) was already Christianized more than a hundred years ago.
Third, the opening of the mission was initiated by the diocese through an invitation to the Congregation with the request that an international community be established.
Fourth, the place has already its own church building and rectory built by the faithful themselves. The church building is a stone church built more than 60 years ago and the new rectory was built in view of the arrival of the missionaries.
As good missionaries, our three fellow La Salettes are gradually adapting ourselves to the language, culture and ministry of this new mission for us. But our constant goal will continue to be to make Mary’s message known among the Tanzanian people.
Please enjoy the following pictures of the life and ministry of our La Salette Missionaries, serving in Tanzania.