Stories of Mission

Father Barthélémy Bazemo, M.Afr, Appointed Provincial of the Americas Washington, D.C., USA – July 1, 2024 – We are delighted to announce that Father Barthélémy Bazemo, M.Afr, originally from Burkina Faso, has been appointed as the new Provincial of the Americas for the Missionaries of Africa, effective July 1, 2024. Father Bazemo succeeds Father Réal…

Before coming to the States, my first missionary assignment was in Tanzania at Manzese Parish in the Archdiocese of Dar es Salaam. Manzese Parish is an urban parish that serves a diverse community of over five thousand members, most of whom were either self-employed or held low or semi-skilled jobs. We had an excellent parish…

Father William Francis Moroney M. Afr. (1935-2024) passed away peacefully at home on February 17, 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya. A Chicago native, Father Moroney commenced his priestly journey with the Archdiocese of Chicago at Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and St. Mary of the Lake Seminary in Mundelein, Illinois, before entering the Society of Missionaries of…

I admit I did a bit of ‘window shopping’ before I joined the Missionaries of Africa in 1984. I read about other congregations and questioned people about their orders before choosing the Missionaries of Africa. One of the things that really attracted me to the Missionaries of Africa was their community life. In their community…

As a kid, I had heard stories about Damien and the lepers. Those stories didn’t prepare me for meeting my first leper on my second day as a missionary in Burkina Faso. It was a shock and it was a startling introduction to the missions. When I was young I thought being a missionary was…