Monastère Notre-Dame-des-Sources, Kiswishi,

Lubumbashi Lubumbashi (former names: (French), ( Dutch)) is the second-largest city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, located in the country's southeasternmost part, along the border with Zambia. The capital and principal city of the Haut-Katang ...

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (french: République démocratique du Congo (RDC), colloquially "La RDC" ), informally Congo-Kinshasa, DR Congo, the DRC, the DROC, or the Congo, and formerly and also colloquially Zaire, is a country in ...

, is a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , found ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

of the

Annunciation Congregation The Congregation of the Annunciation (''Congregatio Annuntiationis B.M.V.''), formerly known as the Belgian Congregation, is a congregation of monasteries within the Roman Catholic Benedictine Confederation. Founded in 1920, the Congregation incl ...

. Established in 1944 in

Katanga Province Katanga was one of the four large provinces created in the Belgian Congo in 1914. It was one of the eleven provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo between 1966 and 2015, when it was split into the Tanganyika, Haut-Lomami, Lualaba, ...

, the monastic community was relocated to Kiswishi (Kisuishi), around 17 km from Lubumbashi, in the early 1960s. As of 2000, the monastery was home to 39

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

s, under the leadership of Conventual Prior Fr Boniface N'Kulu Lupitshi.

History

Benedictine monks from the monastery of Saint André,

Brugge Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the country by population. The area of the whole city a ...

, arrived in the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

in 1910. Undertaking missionary endeavors throughout

, they constructed mission stations and schools. By the 1950s, more than a hundred monks resided in Katanga. The first two bishops of the Vicariate Apostolic of Katanga, José Floriberto Cornelis and Jean-Félix de Hemptinne, were Benedictine monks. By 1944, the monks were prepared to cultivate indigenous

vocation A vocation () is an occupation to which a person is especially drawn or for which they are suited, trained or qualified. People can be given information about a new occupation through student orientation. Though now often used in non-religious ...

s. Father Van der Straten, accompanied by seven local

aspirants ''Aspirants'' is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age web series produced by The Viral Fever (TVF) and created by Arunabh Kumar and Shreyansh Pandey, written by Deepesh Sumitra Jagdish and was directed by Apoorv Singh Karki. It stars N ...

, founded a monastery in Mukaba-Kasari. In 1952, the foundation was transferred to Kansenia, a former mission station. Twelve years later, the monks again relocated, this time to the hill of Kiswishi, 15 km from

. On August 13, 1972, the monastery was raised to the status of a

conventual priory The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

, and a local monk was elected as the first prior.

Apostolic work

Many of the monks at Monastère Notre-Dame-des-Sources are engaged in manual labor, including

mechanic A mechanic is an artisan, skilled tradesperson, or technician who uses tools to build, maintain, or repair machinery, especially cars. Duties Most mechanics specialize in a particular field, such as auto body mechanics, air conditioning and ...

s, farming, gardening, and raising chickens and rabbits. A trade school and medical center are also operated by the monks. The community's ordained monks provide pastoral services in twelve nearby communities as part of the "Living Church" (CEV) program. They also minister at a local military camp. Monks with intellectual training provide instruction at a number of education centers, including an ''Institute for Spirituality'', a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

, the College of John XXIII, and a

Salesian The Salesians of Don Bosco (SDB), formally known as the Society of Saint Francis de Sales (), is a religious congregation of men in the Catholic Church, founded in the late 19th century by Italian priest Saint John Bosco to help poor children du ...

theological school. In 1968, a guesthouse with 38 rooms was opened. The monastic community continues to offer hospitality to those passing by, organizing weekends of recollection and extended retreats.

Personnel

As of 2000, the community at Lubumbashi included 39 monks, nine of whom were ordained

priests A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

. The monks of Monastère Notre-Dame-des-Sources are under the leadership of Conventual Priory Boniface N'Kulu Lupitshi.

References

{{morecat, date=May 2022 Benedictine monasteries in Africa

History

Apostolic work

Personnel

See also

References