SECAM STANDING COMMITTEE MEETING IN KIGALI, RWANDA

The Standing Committee of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) held its second and last ordinary meeting of the year in Kigali, Rwanda, from 25 to 29 November 2024.

Cardinals, archbishops and bishops representing the episcopal conferences of Africa and its islands took an active part in this working meeting. A delegation from the SECAM Secretariat based in Accra, Ghana, was also present.

During the plenaries and the various working sessions, in the presence of SECAM President, His Eminence Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo, the participants exchanged information on the life of the Church and society in general in each region, including recent activities and achievements, and reflected on the challenges ahead.

On the occasion of this meeting, the Standing Committee took the opportunity to participate in the pilgrimage at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Kibeho, celebrating the 43rd anniversary of the apparitions of Our Lady of Kibeho, Rwanda. During a holy mass in this shrine, Most Rev. Stephen Dami Mamza, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Yola, Nigeria, and 2nd Vice-President of SECAM, announced that the 20th Plenary Assembly of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) would be held in Kigali, Rwanda, from 30 July to 4 August 2025.

Also at the Kibeho Sanctuary, an appeal for peace was launched by Most Rev. José Moko, Bishop of Idiofa (DRC) and President of the Association of Episcopal Conferences of Central Africa (ACEAC). The member of SECAM’s Standing Committee said that the bishops of Africa, in particular the Bishops’ Conferences of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Rwanda and Burundi, are calling for peace in the Great Lakes region.

SECAM – SCEAM