From April 2023 to April 2024, preparation for the perpetual vows of two juniors from Senegal took place: Rose Khemes Ngom and Angèle Mareme Sarr. This period ended with two months of intense preparation. Thus, from February to March 2024, this intense preparation took place in the mother house in Granada (San Gregorio), in Spain.
On February 6 in Granada in the chapel of the crypt of Father Gras we began the opening celebration of the formation with Sister Béatrice Amy Ndour. An important moment full of grace and blessing.
An ideal setting for this period, a good atmosphere and very important institutional themes favored this training. The majority of themes were given by Sister Béatrice; the other sisters of the General Government also gave themes via zoom. There were also visits to the surrounding communities, the Père Gras museum and the last visit was to Avila. At the end of the training we had the retreat via zoom led by Father Norbert Litoing, a Cameroonian Jesuit. We sincerely thank the Institute, through the General Government, which granted us this time. Also a sincere and grateful thank you to the community of San Gregorio who did not arrange any detail to put us at ease.
After the training and the retreat we returned to Senegal. The celebration was to be held in the Notre Dame de Lourdes parish in Kaffrine. As of Thursday, April 11, sisters from other communities arrived. The distribution of tasks having already been done, everyone knew what they had to do. This Thursday we had mass at 6:30 p.m. After mass and dinner, an evening was organized to advise future professed women and give them useful gifts. The next day, Friday after the 7 a.m. mass, everyone got to work with young women and other local residents: decoration, cooking, installation…. Friends and families of the professed arrived little by little. At 7 p.m. a vigil closed the day. On Saturday, April 13, the day of the sisters' commitment, we prayed Lauds at 6 a.m. After breakfast, everyone headed to the school to complete the final preparations. At 10 a.m. the mass began, celebrated by Father André Maurice Ndène with the presence of many other priests, religious men and women. It was a very beautiful celebration during which our two sisters said their definitive yes to the Lord, in the presence of their parents, the Daughters of Christ the King and all those who came to witness their process. We thank God for their definitive donation and we pray for them that their joy of this day will never leave them and that the faithfulness of the Lord will be their strength.
After the mass, the party continued with a beautiful fraternal banquet where songs and dances which characterize these types of celebrations were there. It was an exceptional moment, filled with grace, joy and blessing.
Good luck to our two sisters.
Sr. Rose Khémes NGOM FCR
