Formation & Accompaniment
“Your vocation is something more: it is a path guiding your many efforts and actions towards service to others. This gives greater value to everything you do. Your work stops being just about making money, keeping busy or pleasing others. It becomes your vocation because you are called to it.”
When Pallotti’s coming to East Africa commenced, so too did its vocational boom amongst the local Africans. When the Irish missionaries first reached Gallapo, Tanzania, as their initial expedition base, they didn’t remain settled with horizontal feet. Understanding that in the joy of the Gospel one doesn’t evangelize alone, they set out to make young men into Christ’s disciples through Pallottine formation. None were forced to join, only those impelled by the Holy Spirit; and if so, their vocational training led them to training in both Africa and Ireland.
In 1996, now we can say prophetically in the way of Fratelli Tutti, a philosophical studies center was inaugurated; spiritually and studiously joining together students from Tanzania, Kenya, South Africa, and Uganda. The first Pallottines to enter were Fathers Emmanuel Misanga and Remi Mushy, and the international community trail -blazed by their commitment, continues to grow today.
In the beginning, the East African philosophy students lived in the Spiritan community, and their philosopical studies were held at either the Holy Ghost Insitute or Spiritan Missionary Seminary. Our novitiate program was conducted first in Nairobi, which henceforth shifted to Arusha, and now Butare (Rwanda).
With the need to foster the Pallottine Spirituality, the Society built its Philosophical Studies and Formation Center and Njiro Hill, Arusha. It gave the aspirants the distinctive possibility to profoundly understand St. Vincent’s charism: the love of Christ urges us on.
Above all, it guided the young men that the origin, source, and teacher of every Pallottine Apostolate is Jesus Christ, Apostle of the Eternal Father. This fundamental rule - “the life of Our Lord Jesus Christ” - can only be accomplished by having formation which aims at the imitation of Christ in all aspects.
Today, our community is built up by seminarians from Tanzania, Kenya, and Mozambique.
“Jesus came and touched them.”
(Mt 17:7)
