SAGANA, Kenya (CISA) – Seventeen novices of the Consolata Missionaries (IMC), Kenya-Uganda Region, publicly professed the evangelical vows of poverty, chastity and obedience on Thursday, marking their First Religious Profession during a Eucharistic celebration at St Allamano Centre, Sagana.

The Mass, which coincided with the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord, was presided over by the Very Rev. Fr Zachariah Kariuki, IMC, Regional Superior of the Kenya-Uganda Region.

The newly professed were drawn from seven countries – Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Angola and Mozambique.

In his homily, the Vice Regional Superior, Fr Evans Mochama, IMC, drew a parallel between the novitiate and the mountain of the Transfiguration. “The novitiate is your mountain,” he told the novices, explaining that their formation had prepared them for this moment of self-offering. Just as Christ revealed his glory to Peter, James and John, he said, the novices would now reveal Christ’s glory through their vows.

“There is no obedience without sacrifice,” Fr Mochama said, adding that the novices’ “yes” to religious life would draw them closer to God as his beloved. He encouraged them not to be afraid, telling them that “with Jesus everything will be well.” Recalling the Consolata charism, he called on the novices to be witnesses of the Gospel and to guard against reducing poverty, chastity and obedience to mere formality, urging them instead to live the vows through faith, obedience and a deeper life of prayer.

Speaking on behalf of the novitiate, one of the newly professed thanked God for his guidance throughout their formation and expressed gratitude to the Superior General, Very Rev. Fr Zachariah Kariuki, as well as to the regional council, the novice master and the wider Consolata community for their accompaniment.

Fr Kariuki thanked the newly professed for their “yes” to religious life and announced their new assignments. He asked the congregation to continue praying for them as they begin the next stage of their missionary formation.

The Consolata Missionaries (IMC) were founded in Turin, Italy, in 1901 by St Joseph Allamano and have served in Kenya since 1902.