The Marist District of West Africa will be a new Province in 2021
On the 21st November, Brothers Cyprian Bankakuu Gandeebo, Superior of the District of West Africa, and Juan Carlos Fuertes Marí, Provincial of Mediterránea, announced that on the 9th November, Brother Superior General and his Council approved that the District of West Africa become a new Province from August 2021, when the first Provincial Chapter will be held.
At the last Chapter of the District, in August 2018 in Ghana, the Provincial of Mediterránea, Br. Juan Carlos, and his Vice-Provincial, Br. Aureliano García Manzanal, informed the members of the Chapter of the decision of the Provincial Council to start a process for the District to become a Province. These were the reasons for such a decision, among others:
- the number of Brothers, the number of communities and the number of works has been increasing in recent years;
- the average age of the Brothers demonstrates a young and vibrant administrative unit (about 39 years);
- sustainable growth and progressive autonomy with regard to the economy;
- a high level of autonomy in the animation and governance of the District.
The two Administrative Units then set up a coordination team made up of some members of the two councils. This team has designed a discernment process that involve all the communities in the District. An agreement to continue the collaboration between the two future Provinces is also being prepared.
The material gathered during the consultation process will serve to prepare the Assembly to be held in 2021, which will be the step prior to the Provincial Chapter in August.
District of West Africa
It was created in 2000 and is made up of Brothers from Cameroon, Chad, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Liberia. The current District Superior is Brother Cyprian Gandeebo, then Brothers José Antonio Ruiz Abeijón, Sylvain Yao and Francis Lukong.
The District has 83 Brothers: 61 in perpetual profession and 22 in temporary vows. It also has 8 novices and 8 postulants.
At present there are 10 schools (nursery, primary and secondary) and 11 communities.
Its mission is focused on the education of children and young people.
Letter from the Provincial of Mediterránea and the Superior of the District: English | Español | Français | Italiano