Dear Sisters, we send you our warmest greetings: Bonjour, Good morning, Buenos días!
Here we are at the 2026 International Session for young sisters preparing for their perpetual vows. We form a wonderful international community comprising nine nationalities. There are 25 of us from seven Provinces: six from the East, three from Central Africa, five from Rwanda-Chad, four from Madagascar, two from Central America and Cuba, four from the Asia-Pacific, and one from Europe. We began our session on Sunday, October 18, with practical instructions at the Mother House. The three General Councillors are accompanying us on this journey: Sr Lerma, Sr Marthe and Sr Sandra. On the same day, during Sunday Mass, the parishioners who pray in our chapel gave us a warm welcome; this brought us great joy, as amongst them were those who had kindly offered to pick up some of us from the airport.
On Monday, October 19, the opening liturgy started at the Sanctuary of Saint Marie Eugénie. The three Councillors accompanying us during the session reminded us of the session’s theme: ‘KEEPING ALIVE THE FLAME OF A JOYFUL CONSECRATED LIFE IN FULLNESS FOR OUR TIME’. In the spirit and attitude of inculturated prayer, they gave each of us a lit candle, symbolising Christ the Light who illuminates our lives and who must be at the center of our consecration. Afterwards, we made our way to the Main Altar of the Chapel to hear the Word of God from 2 Timothy 1:6–8, which reminds us to rekindle the free gift of God that is within us. In procession and in silence, carrying our lit candles, we entered the hall and placed them around the prepared tree.
Upon reaching our seats, we found a symbol of a person’s hand holding a lit candle; on the back of the image, we wrote our names along with a word expressing our desire that would accompany us throughout our session, and finally we hung our symbols on the tree one by one. In the same vein, Sr Rekha M Chennattu, our Superior General, reminded us in her opening message that we are in the land of Saint Marie Eugénie. She invited us to become the best version of ourselves and faithful daughters of Saint Marie Eugénie in the service of life. She also urged us to become sisters who abide in God’s love, who radiate joy, and who offer themselves in the service of life with zeal and commitment. And she reminded us that this session should be a time of grace: a time to reflect, give thanks, renew our commitment, and count the blessings in our lives.
From October 20-22, we began each day with more creative and symbolic liturgy, which involved passing the candle—symbolising Christ, our Light—from one of us to the next. This gesture introduced the session on self-awareness, led by Sr Francine Eugénie from the Rwanda-Chad Province. This is why we passed this light amongst ourselves, so that we might be able to revisit our life stories in the light of Christ. Sr Francine invited us to reflect on our childhood so that we might journey with our stories, recognising our strengths and weaknesses, strengthening our human and religious identity, and building sincere relationships with great trust in God who walks with us, so that we might become women of the interiority. At the end of this session, Sr Francine led us in an experience of synodality and spirituality in the light of the writings of St Marie Eugénie. Drawing on our personal experiences, each of us mapped out our own life path, and then together we charted a single path for our international community. This helped us move from ‘I’ to ‘we’ in our mission – a life that becomes love in all our actions.
On 24 October, we spent the day visiting the Assumptionist family; a Vietnamese Assumptionist Father, Fr. Jean Baptiste Truc, spoke to us in the morning, briefly sharing the story of his vocation, the history of their congregation, and the evangelical collaboration between Saint Marie Eugénie and Father Emmanuel d’Alzon in proclaiming the Kingdom of God. In the afternoon, we visited the motherhouse of the Little Sisters of the Assumption and that of the Oblates of the Assumption. It was a joy for us to explore their museums and archives. We were deeply moved by the fraternal welcome and by seeing certain aspects of Saint Marie Eugénie reflected in their histories, and more particularly in the shared mission of the Assumption Family: “Thy Kingdom come!”
Thank you for all your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for us just as we keep you and your intentions in our prayers.
On behalf of the sisters of the 2026 International Young Sisters’ Session,
Your sisters Agathe Noëlla Songo of the Good Shepherd and Christine Marie Thérèse Uwayo of Jesus in the Eucharist