White Fathers
White Fathers (Latin Fathers Albi PA, French Pères Blancs ) - actually, Society of Missionaries of Africa (lat. Societas Missionariorum Africae, French Société des missionnaires d' Afrique ) - ie a Roman Catholic religious order. The religious symbol is MAFR that used sometimes abbreviation SMA hand stands for Societas Missionum ad Afros, so the Society of African Missions, a religious community founded in Lyon in 1856.
History
The community of brothers and priests was founded in 1868 by the then Archbishop of Algiers and later Cardinal Charles Martial Lavigerie for the Africa Mission, who was also superior general until 1892. Members should be in language and dress suit people respect their culture and build an indigenous church. ( See also: accommodation, inculturation. )
Your name is derived from their religious habit (white, North African and Gandura burnus ). Because "white" was often confused with the marking of the skin color, the term " Missionaries of Africa " is preferred.
The first General Chapter of 1848 elected the form of a Klerikalinstituts, whose members undertake an oath to the lifelong missionary work. The White Fathers were confirmed in 1885 and 1908 preliminary final by the Holy See.
1874 The Community was given the Church of St. Anne in Jerusalem. The missionaries began their missionary work in Algeria and in 1875 in Tunisia. Trying to reach by land across the Sahara today's Mali, failed in 1876 because three missionaries were murdered by Tuareg. 1878 were mission stations in East Africa and 1894 in French Sudan (now Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea) to be built. 1874 offices in France, 1884 in Belgium, 1894 in Germany and 1901 in Canada were founded.
1971, the White Fathers moved voluntarily from the Portuguese province of Mozambique Africa. This happened in spite of a privileged status ` and not lack of staff or security, but in protest against the injustice and police brutality of the Portuguese colonial policy. According to the then Superior General, Theoz van Asten, the only reason for the dismissal of 38 missionaries lay in the fact that they could give no credible witness more in the former situation; their presence would become a counter witness. This protest was directed at the same time but also to the bishops Mocambiques and Portugal, were silent on the policy of Portugal. A larger group of missionaries that officially the reasons mentioned above and voluntarily withdrew from a country in the missionary history of the Catholic Church was by then not yet occurred.
The White Fathers gave an important impetus for the Christian- Islamic dialogue. Among other things, they founded in 1978 the Christian- Islamic Encounter and Documentation Centre ( CIBEDO ) in Frankfurt / Main - since 1998 as a specialized agency of the German Bishops' Conference - promotes interfaith dialogue and coexistence between Christians and Muslims.
Offices
Currently ( 2011) work, the White Fathers in 20 countries in Africa. Religious houses there are in Europe along with Belgium, Germany and France and in Great Britain, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland; in America besides Canada and in Mexico, the U.S. and Brazil; in Asia since 1991 in India and the Philippines.
In January 2011, the community consisted of 1495 Fathers and Brothers. The General Chapter of the "Society of the Missionaries of Africa " elected on 31 May 2010 Richard Baawobr (Ghana) in succession by Gérard Chabanon as the new Superior General.
1869 Lavigerie the White Sisters ( Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa).
General Superiore
- Francisque Deguerry (1874-1880) ( Vicar General )
- Jean -Baptiste- Frézal Charbonnier (1880-1885) ( Vicar General )
- Léonce Bridoux (1885 (?) -1886 ) ( Vicar General )
- Francisque Deguerry (1886-1889) ( Vicar General )
- Léon -Augustin -Antoine -Simeon Livinhac (1889-1922)
- Paul Voillard (1922-1936)
- Joseph -Marie Birraux (1936-1947)
- Louis -Marie -Joseph Durrieu (1947-1957)
- Léon Volker (1957-1967)
- Théoz Van Asten (1967-1974)
- Jean -Marie Vasseur (1974-1980)
- Robert Marie Gay (1980-1986)
- Etienne Renaud (1986-1992)
- Gothard Rosner (1992-1998)
- François Richard (1998-2004)
- Gérard Chabanon (2004-2010)
- Richard Baawobr (2010 - ...)