Opening of the SMA/OLA Triple Jubilee in Egypt
On Saturday, 30 August 2025, at St. Mark’s Cathedral in Shubra, His Beatitude Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac, Patriarch of Alexandria and President of the Council of Catholic Patriarchs and Bishops of Egypt, presided over a solemn Mass marking:
1. 150 Years of the Foundation of the Sisters of Our Lady Apostles (OLA)
2. 170 Years of the Foundation of the Society of African Missions (SMA)
3. 200 Years of the Birth of Father Augustine Planque, SMA, and Founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady Apostles.
Among the many participants were: Monsignor Antoine Tawfik, Vicar of the Latin Church in Egypt, the SMA Fathers, priests, religious men and women, lay collaborators, as well as all the OLA Sisters of the Province of Egypt.
The celebration began with a speech by Sister Marie Teresa, the Province Leader of Egypt, who highlighted the fulfillment of the Institute’s mission in Egypt, thanks to the generosity of the sisters, including those who have passed on as witnesses of service and sacrifice.
In his homily, the Patriarch expressed his joy at being present at this historic event and congratulated the sisters and the assembly. He emphasized the value of work, listening to the Word of God, and mutual service. This anniversary, he reminded them, “Is not a time to rest but a call to continue the mission and bear more fruit”. Meditating on the Magnificat and Mary’s service, he recalled that true faith is expressed in the gift of oneself to others…” God accomplishes great things through our weakness,” inviting everyone to look back on the past with gratitude, to live the present with passion, and to open themselves to the future with hope.
Speeches
Opening remarks by Sister Marie Teresa
Addressing the Patriarch, ecclesiastical authorities, religious men and women, and friends in attendance, Sister Marie Teresa said that this Jubilee celebration reminds us that these anniversaries are a celebration of fidelity, service, and self-giving, the fruit of the Lord’s call and the sisters’ generous response throughout history. She invited everyone to make this day an act of thanksgiving and renewal of the covenant with God.
She then presented a brief biography of Father Planque (1826–1907): born in France, ordained a priest in 1850, seminary director and professor of philosophy, he was marked by the missionary call of Bishop Brésillac.
After the latter’s untimely death, he continued the work by becoming the first Superior General of the SMA for 50 years. Recognizing the need for a female presence in the mission, he founded the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Apostles in Vénissieux in 1876 with ten young women spread across 123 communities in 21 countries (mainly in Africa). Faithful to the three evangelical counsels – poverty, chastity, and obedience – the sisters are committed to evangelization, education, health, social support, and accompanying the most vulnerable. Their spirituality is rooted in the Virgin Mary, Our Lady of the Apostles, a model of openness to the Spirit.
Sister Marie Teresa concluded by affirming that this Jubilee is a day of remembrance, gratitude, and missionary renewal, so that the sisters’ witness may remain a living Gospel in the world.
Homily by Patriarch Ibrahim Isaac
The Patriarch recalled that this triple celebration ( SMA, OLA, Father Planque) is in keeping with the spirit of the Jubilee of Hope that the universal Church is celebrating this year. On four points:
1. A memory that gives life:
Commemoration is not nostalgia, but recognition of the wonders accomplished by God and renewal of his work today. Brésillac and Planque remain living legacies of missionary passion and faith in the Spirit.
2. The power of the Spirit:
It is neither numbers nor structures that ensure the fruitfulness of the mission, but the power of the Spirit. Being a missionary means going to the peripheries and serving the most forgotten, near and far.
3. Mary’s Magnificat at the heart of the mission:
Like Mary, whose praise was translated into service, the OLAs brought Christ to Africa and elsewhere through education, health care, and fraternal closeness. The mission is accomplished in simplicity and trust.
4. The legacy of Father Planque:
More than a founder, he was a faithful believer, attentive to the Spirit and open to all. His example calls us today to be a voice for the voiceless, a companion for the isolated, and a bridge in places of division.