By Francis Ngahu

SAGANA, KENYA, SEPTEMBER 18, 2026 (CISA) – Seventeen Consolata priests and religious have completed a month-long renewal course in Sagana, describing the experience as a moment of grace that deepened their sense of vocation, missionary zeal and fraternal life within the congregation.

The course, held from 17 August to 12 September, brought together members marking around fifteen years of vocation from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ivory Coast and South Africa. It forms part of an established rhythm of ongoing formation the Consolata Missionaries offer their members at five, ten and fifteen years of ministry, giving them a structured opportunity to pause, pray and take stock of their vocation.

Father  Erasto Mgalama, the congregation’s General Councillor for Africa, said the course was above all an invitation to return to the source of missionary life. “We need to think about ourselves, our relationship with the God who called us and consecrated us and sent us to the mission, before we think of giving to others, because we cannot give to others what we do not have,” he said, recalling that Saint Joseph Allamano, founder of the Consolata Missionaries, insisted on this same priority.

The month unfolded across four thematic weeks. The first, “Human and Relational Maturity,” guided participants through sessions on stress management, forgiveness, anger and grief, and the healthy navigation of life transitions. The second invited them to renew their identity as alter Christus, reflecting on the ministry of the Word, confession and the Eucharist, alongside canonical formation led by Father John Okello. The third week addressed midlife growth, recovery from addiction, and human sexuality, equipping participants to minister with greater freedom and integrity. The course closed with a week-long retreat led by Father Agapetus Mukabane of the Holy Cross Missionaries, giving the group time before the Lord to consolidate all they had received.

Each day began with Mass at seven in the morning, followed by two formation sessions, midday prayer and shared meals, with evenings given to Vespers, sport, group discussion and Eucharistic adoration.

Father Mgalama said one of the most encouraging fruits of the month was the bond participants rebuilt with one another, some meeting for the first time since their novitiate years. “A Consolata missionary cannot live without community,” he said, describing this rediscovery of fraternity as central to the course. He encouraged them to carry this renewed appreciation of common life back to their communities, sustaining it through shared prayer, regular meetings and time spent together, “so that they may live more actively the community life.”

Very Rev. Fr Evans Mwochama, IMC the vice regional superior of kenya -Uganda region, who took part in the course, said the experience answered a real need in missionary life. “Even the human person needs that break,” he said, likening it to a long journey by road. “Once the car has gone all the way from Nairobi, you need to stop at the petrol station, get the coolant, add a bit of petrol, so that you may be able to continue.”

For Father Daniel Kivua, a Consolata missionary serving in Pretoria, South Africa, the course marked a second experience of renewal, having attended an earlier one in Sagana in 2019. He noted how the format had matured since then, giving participants more space to absorb what they were taught rather than moving quickly from one session to the next. “This one, we have been given time to materialise it, to digest it, and to make it part of us,” he said, adding that he would encourage every missionary to take up the opportunity when it comes.

Father Matthew Kirema, IMC from Kenya, described the month as a time of reawakening as he awaits a new assignment. “It’s like now I am looking, introspecting myself for transformation,” he said, expressing his desire to go forward carrying “Christ, Maria Consolata and Saint Joseph” into whatever mission lies ahead.

Reflecting on the group as a whole, Father Mgalama likened the transformation to an engine restored to full strength. “It’s an engine that has been overhauled, and it can now run miles more,” he said.

As the congregation enters October’s Missionary Month, Father Mgalama invited participants, and all priests reading of their experience, to return to the fundamentals of their vocation. “A priest must be grounded on Christ, a missionary must be grounded on Christ every single moment,” he said. “Let us go to the basics, and make sure that we follow them.”