Following the example of Jesus who invited his disciples to go apart in a deserted place to pray, we, Daughters of the Holy Spirit of the Vice-Province of CAMEROON were gathered from June 22 to 29, 2026, at the “Renée BUREL” reception house. in Galdima-Maroua, to live together our annual spiritual retreat. This retreat was conducted by Father Peter DESYBEL of the Society of Jesus, on the subject: “One heart, one soul” (Acts 4:32).
Through the prayer points, the preacher invited us to fully live our religious consecration according to three dimensions: the spiritual dimension by being women of prayer, joyful and in love with God, the dimension of community life by inviting us to see “our sisters, not as a chance or not a burden but, as a free gift given by God from all eternity”; and the dimension of the mission in making us understand that our common life is not the success of a work -school, hospital or parish- but that of the mutual sanctification of our daily lives, out of love. It is God who entrusts us with the mission and we are his collaborators.
We were all deeply touched by the relevant advice of the Father who joined us in the realities that we live in communities. All of us were filled with joy, renewed and amazed by this time of “heart to heart” with the Lord. We ended the spiritual retreat with a thanksgiving mass during which we gave thanks to God for the experience of this retreat. “One body and one soul to live in unity, communion, fraternity, hope and joy, in an authentic community life, and for the mission”.
In the aftermath of this spiritual retreat, on June 30, we made a pilgrimage to Tokombéré, a town located about forty kilometers from Maroua, on the mountain “Baba Simon” – a Cameroonian priest of the Archdiocese of Douala who evangelized the peoples of the mountains of the Extrême-Northern Cameroon, with great respect for traditional religions – to entrust our Vice-Province and our spiritual family to God.
Sister Jeneviève KOVOU, DHS, community of Touloum. Published on 10 July 2026
