Ad limina visit of C.E.R.N.A. to the Dicastery for Consecrated Life: a reflection on the mission in North Africa

On 20 November 2024, the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of the North African Region (CERNA) visited the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life as part of their Ad Limina Visit. The meeting was a time for dialogue and discernment on the situation of local churches in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Western Sahara, and the crucial role of consecrated life in these territories.
Consecrated life in North Africa
The presence of consecrated men and women is one of the pillars of the Church’s mission in North Africa, where Christian communities are a minority and often consist of foreigners who are passing through. There was dialogue on the vitality of consecrated life, which carries out many pastoral, formative and charitable activities. Significant challenges also emerged: the difficulty in obtaining entry visas for missionaries, generational turnover in communities, and cultural differences within communities themselves and among Institutes of Consecrated Life born in different contexts.
During the meeting, the commitment of congregations to fit into the local context, often learning the local language and cultivating relationships of dialogue and friendship with Muslim communities, was emphasized. CERNA posed some crucial questions: how to propose consecrated life in Muslim-majority contexts? How to support small congregations wishing to establish themselves in the region? The Dicastery listened attentively, recognizing the prophetic value of these communities, called to be a sign of peace and dialogue in a borderland.