Franciscan joy in Lubumbashi

On the 8th September 2026, on the joyful feast of the Nativity of the Virgin Mary, the parish of Our Lady, Queen of the Apostles, in the heart of the Kigoma district of Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was filled with a deeply Franciscan joy. 

On this day marked by simplicity and grace, 16 brothers made their first profession — 11 from the Province of St Benedict the African and 5 from the Province of St Anthony of Padua — whilst 6 brothers made their solemn profession (4 from the Province of St Benedict the African and 2 from the Province of Saint Anthony of Padua). Five others celebrated 25 years of religious life. The Mass, presided over by Br Georges Misange, Provincial Minister of the Province of St Benedict the African, was also an opportunity for him to give thanks for his 25 years of consecration. 

The parish community, the families of the newly professed and those celebrating their jubilees, members of the Franciscan Family and numerous friends surrounded the friars with their prayers and affection. An atmosphere of simple, joyful and deeply evangelical fraternity enveloped the entire assembly. 

In his homily, the Provincial Minister recalled that this celebration brought together three graces: the birth of Mary, the new religious commitments, and the fidelity of those celebrating a quarter of a century of consecrated life. In this year marking the 8th centenary of the Transitus of Saint Francis, he emphasised that the legacy of the Poor Man of Assisi remains a living Gospel. Just as in the genealogy of Christ, God does not choose the perfect, but the lowly and the humble: Mary, Francis, and so many brothers from humble backgrounds. The Franciscan life, he insisted, loses its soul the moment it seeks honours, titles or power. 

Addressing the brothers in temporary profession, he reminded them that poverty, obedience and brotherhood require true detachment. The habit is neither a privilege nor social security: it is a commitment to love, even when it comes at a cost. To the brothers making their solemn profession, he showed that their definitive ‘yes’ is a prophetic act in a world where everything is discarded and replaced. He urged them never to let routine stifle their first love. To those celebrating their jubilees, he reminded them that 25 years is not a medal, but a question: what have we truly offered to the fraternity? Seniority can never replace conversion. 

Finally, the Minister General recalled the heart of Franciscan fidelity: remaining available to God, to the Church and to the brothers. To live out religious profession to the full, one must let die within oneself the desire to show off, the will to possess, rivalries and indifference towards the poor. The world does not need worldly or busy religious, but brothers imbued with prayer, rooted in a radical fraternity and embodying joyful poverty. Men capable of unsettling the world through the transparency of their lives and the power of their holiness. 

On this blessed day, the community has entrusted each person’s journey to Mary, the humble handmaid of the Lord, and to St Francis, the universal brother: may their readiness to serve and their humility inspire the newly professed, sustain those who have made their final vows, and rekindle the fidelity of those celebrating their jubilees. May this feast be for the whole Franciscan Family a call to walk in the joy of the Gospel, as Friars Minor, simple and zealous, in the service of God and His people.

Fr. Luc Nzita, OFM