The Rosminian Family Working for Africa
Fr Kit Cunningham writes ...
Who are the Rosminians? A small but much loved congregation, officially known as the Institute of Charity, but commonly known as the Rosminians. The Institute's founder, Antonio Rosmini, was born in 1797 in Rovereto, and in 1828 fired with zeal, went to Domodossola in Northern Italy. At Mount Calvario, he cultivated a deep life of prayer and formulated the guiding principles of the Institute. Holiness was the call for all his followers, loyalty to the Church but seeking first the kingdom of God and his justice, and a great trust in divine providence.
The Institute of Charity consists of Catholic priests, brothers, sisters, adopted sons and daughters, Ascribed Members, all referred to as Rosminians. The Ascribed Members are lay people or members of other congregations and orders who unite themselves through God to the Rosminians by ties of mutual love as well as through reciprocal duties and merits.
The Rosminians were asked by Rome to go to Tanzania, then known as Tanganyika, to help other missionaries spread the good news. The first group came from the Irish Province to Kilimanjaro. In 1947 they then moved to Tanga region, and in 1950 took control of an area of some 27,348 square kilometres under Fr Eugene Arthur who then became the first Bishop of Tanga. Later on the Irish Province was joined by members of both the English and the Italian Provinces.
The Rosminians have now been in Tanzania for more than 75 years and specifically in the Tanga Diocese for 45 years, trying to live Rosmini's charisma of universal charity - simply the love of God and the love our neighbour as specifically expressed by Jesus in the Gospels but put into practice.
The Rosminians are responsible for building 25 of the main 30 parishes in Tanga Diocese. In 1954, Bishop Eugene Arthur founded the Sisters of Our Lady of Usambara, affectionately known as the Usambara Sisters. Some of our Rosminians were involved in the preparation and writing of their constitution as well as teaching in their formation centre. Today the Sisters work as catechists, school teachers, nurses, midwives and medical assistants whilst others are studying to become doctors, secretaries, cookery experts, agricultural specialists, accountants and administrators - altogether around 500, working in five different dioceses in Tanzania.
There are now 33 Rosminians in Kenya and Tanzania, working in our formation centres or parishes or schools or all three! We have a mixed secondary school outside of Tanga town with Fr Tony Mitchell as Manager, Sister Seraphina Temba as headteacher with 11 additional teachers, four of whom are Usambara Sisters, one a Rosminian Brother and six lay teachers. Apart from the huge Kwalukonge project, there is also Kwanjeka and the Misufini Centre for Lepers.
There are, however, on-going problems which seem never ending in the developing world - personnel, finance, medical expenses, poor economy and disease. Although the Rosminians has, an international order, agreed to subsidise the training in East Africa, the money we are receiving from Ireland a nd elsewhere is simply not enough. Fewer people are joining the congregation, and those who are still with us are simply getting older. The Sunday church collection is anything from $1 to $12. People have very little to offer and are often struggling on less than a dollar a day themselves. The economy is very poor and the climate is unstable. Sometimes there are short rains for a month and then the rest of the year is completely dry, so nothing is harvested. As in all parts of Africa, HIV/AIDS is wiping out whole generations of families and leaving so many Tanzania children orphaned - and then there is malaria, which kills even more.
So what does our future hold? Well, all we can say is that we aim to:
Work together in the spirit of love and care
Prepare and train personnel, assist and support those who will continue the work started by our elders
Focus on the poor, the sick, the orphans, the disabled, the lepers, the blind and the HIV/AIDS sufferers
Develop the projects we have at hand
Continue and strengthen our good relationships with the local diocesan priests, with other religious orders
who work in Tanga, and all people of good will
Continue to foster unity and strengthen our good relationships with other provinces and regions as a true Rosminian family
We thank you all so much for your help, both from the second collections you have had for us but also from the two concerts given by the soprano Una Barry and the organist Andrew Dean in aid of Kwalukonge taking placed in the Wirral and in London. We thank Canon John Marmion, from Shrewsbury Diocese and parish priest of Greasby, his parishioners for welcoming out two young Rosminian Fathers from Tanzania so warmly and so generously. May God bless you all.
Kit Cunningham IC
Rector and Parish Priest of St Etheldreda's,
Ely Place, London
February 2004
