Johannesburg, 23 September, 2024 / 11:00 pm (ACI Africa).
The just concluded joint meeting between members of the Leadership Conference of Consecrated Life (LCCL) and the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) was an opportunity for the two entities to collaborate on how to address dwindling vocations to religious life.
In an interview with Vatican News, LCCL Secretary General Sr. Thao Phi expressed concern that Religious Congregations in South Africa, Botswana and eSwatini, are experiencing a shortage of personnel to work in the institutions they run.
“Not long ago, we had enough personnel to send to all our institutions. We had our members working in our schools, hospitals, and clinics. Today, however, we don't have the personnel to work in these institutions,” Sr. Thao said.
The member of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary said the September 16-18 meeting between LCCL and SACBC was “an opportunity to look into ways in which we in the consecrated life can collaborate with the Bishops to promote vocations both for the Dioceses and for our various religious congregations.”
The Catholic Nun underlined the need for initial and ongoing formation within religious congregations “to ensure that we have common understanding about consecrated life and religious life.”
