On August 28th, our eyes turned to the Catholic mission of Quipeio. On that day, a dream came true: to return to the place of the first novitiate in the Angolan province. Carried by the words of Pope Francis: "Looking back with gratitude, living the present with passion and embracing the future with hope", we saw the fire of our charism and spirituality being rekindled in this mission that has marked our history. In September 1947, our sisters established themselves for the first time in the mission of Quipeio with the aim of manifesting the tenderness and mercy of the Father there through concrete services of caring for the sick, boarding school for girls, religious formation - the novitiate - and participation in pastoral work in various fields. Because of the war, the sisters found themselves in insecurity and were forced to leave the mission on october 11, 1976. They lived through the destruction of the war and its consequences which are still visible today. But by the grace of God, the time has come to reopen. What a joy! What emotion!
The beginning in which we are called is not a reform or a new picture: it is a refoundation. For us, to refound means to return to the foundations. We, Sisters of the Holy Saviour, must remember that our foundation is the person of Christ and that it is around Him and the mission that takes place a new beginning. For us, to re-found also means to return to the sources. Jesus Christ is for us the source of the living water.
Blessed Alphonse Marie, our foundress, shows us this same path. In her gaze on Jesus Crucified, she deeply perceived the saving love and mercy of God and she transmitted them. Through her example, we want to be present in the world to promote life.
People have been living this expectation of our return for 44 years, since the sisters left the mission because of an armed conflict .
For the celebration of the Eucharist, we had 3 bishops emeritus (two from Huambo and one from Mbanza Kongo), 24 priests, 35 Sisters of our Congregation (some of whom had done their novitiate in Quipeio) coming from Benguela, Ganda Vila and Missão, Menongue, Bié, Lubango, Huambo and their missions.
Today, the Paul Elisabeth community of the Quipeio Mission has three sisters for health services, education, women's formation, boarding school, catechesis, youth and housing ministry.