After The "Chapter 2010" : The General Council

Our Superior General : Fr. Richard Baawobr (in the middle) (Ghanaian)
and the four Assistants General: (from left to right)
Emmanuel Ngona (Congolese) ; Jos Van Boxel 1st Assistant (Belgian) ;
Sergio Villaseñor (Mexican) and Peter Welsh (British)

Richard Baawobr Superior Général

Father Richard BAAWOBR, Ghanaian, who will become 51 years old in June, was elected Superior General of the Society of Missionaries of Africa today, the 31st May, Feast of the Visitation, for the next six years (2010-2016). Father Michel Carbonneau, Secretary General, immediately sent word of the election to Ivan Cardinal DIAS, Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples, under whose offices the Society of Missionaries of Africa comes.

Father Richard Baawobr was born in Nandom-Lawra, Ghana, on the 21st June 1959. He joined the Society of Missionaries of Africa, making his noviciate at Fribourg in 1981-1982. He was then sent to Totteridge, London, for theology. He took his Missionary Oath on the 5th December 1986 and was ordained to the priesthood at Ko, Ghana, on the 18th July 1987. His first appointment in Africa was to Livulu, Kinshasa Diocese, DR Congo. He stayed there for four years.

He then went to Rome for Scripture studies (4 years), then to Châtelard, Lyons, France, for training in Ignatian spirituality. He was appointed as ‘socius’ to the Kahangala novitiate, Tanzania (1996-1999).

In 1998, Father Baawobr participated in the General Chapter as delegate for Tanzania. From October 1999, he was in charge of MAfr students doing theology at Toulouse. He took a sabbatical in 2002-2003 to continue work on his doctorate in Holy Scripture. He came to the 2004 Chapter as delegate of the French Province and he was elected 1st Assistant General (2004-2010). He defended his doctoral thesis when he was already Assistant General, in November 2004. It was in this capacity that he took part in the Chapter that has just elected him Superior General of the Society.

The 42 Capitulants of 19 nationalities voted by secret ballot, out of which came the result for Fr. Richard Baawobr on Monday afternoon the 31st May. Fr. Baawobr succeeds Fr. Gérard Chabanon whose mandate (2004-2010) ended the same day. Father Richard is the first African Superior General of the Society.

Jos Van Boxel (1st Assistant)

On the 3rd June 2010, Father Jozef Van Boxel, Belgian, 55 years old, was elected Assistant General of the Society of Missionaries of Africa for the next six years. Father Jozef Van Boxel was born at Turnhout, Belgium, on the 20th July 1954. Entering the Society of Missionaries of Africa, he did his Spiritual Year at Ottawa from 1976-1977. He was then sent to Totteridge, London, where he studied theology. He took his Missionary Oath in the Society on the 5th December 1981 and was ordained to the priesthood at Chimay, Belgium, on the 24th July 1982.

His first appointment for Africa was for Zambia, Chipata Diocese, Lundazi parish. He remained there for four years.
Two years of philosophy studies in Rome followed. In 1988, Father Van Boxel was appointed to Mpima Major Seminary, Zambia, then to the then First Cycle at Kahangala, Tanzania, in 1991. In 1996, he was moved to the Arusha First Phase and in 1997 he left for Belgium to do Missionary Promotion and to become Superior of the community at Leuven. In 1999, he was elected Provincial councillor for Belgium. In 2002, he did the MDT Session at Jerusalem and in 2003 was appointed to Uganda. However, before reaching there, he formed part of the staff at Jerusalem for about 6 months. Once in Uganda, he was on the teaching staff at Jinja and elected councillor for the Province in September 2005. He became Rector of the PCJ at Jinja in October 2005. He is attending the Chapter of our Society for the first time.

You will find the interview with Jozef in the preceding issue of the Petit Echo pp. 361-362. It only remains for us to congratulate him on his election as First Assistant General and wish him good health to accomplish his mission to the utmost.

 

Sergio Villaseñor

On the 3rd June 2010, Sergio Villaseñor, Mexican, 43 years old, was elected Assistant General of the Society of Missionaries of Africa. Sergio was born at Pedernales M., Mexico, on the 1st August 1966. Entering the Society of Missionaries of Africa, he did his novitiate at Fribourg, Switzerland. He was then sent to France to study theology at Toulouse. He took his Missionary Oath in the Society on the 7th December 1996 and was ordained a priest at La Paz, Mexico, on the 19th July 1997. His first appointment for Africa was at Soalpo in Chimoio Diocese, Mozambique on the 1st October 1997. He was to do parish ministry there until 2000. He was then appointed to the parish of Murraça in Beira Archdiocese, Mozambique. On the 1st December 2000, he was elected councillor for the SAP and on the 31st August 2001, he left for the parish of Inhamizua, still in Beira Archdiocese.

Sergio was elected SAP delegate to the 2004 Chapter. In 2006, he left for Mexico, where he was appointed Provincial councillor of the ANA. He was put in charge of Missionary and Vocation Promotion, with residence at Querétaro. In July 2008, he became Superior of the First Phase at Querétaro. On the 17th November the same year, he was elected Delegate Superior of Mexico. Some months later, on the 1st February 2009, he left for Guadalajara. He was the Province of the Americas elected delegate for the 2010 Chapter.

Emmanuel Ngona

Father Emmanuel Ngona Ngotsi, Congolese, 50, was elected Assistant General of the Society of Missionaries of Africa on the 4th June 2010. Father Emmanuel was born at Bambumines, Congo, on the 1st January 1960. Entering the Society of Missionaries of Africa, he did his Spiritual Year at Fribourg, Switzerland in 1984-1985. He was then sent to Toulouse, France, to study theology there. He took his Missionary Oath in the Society at Toulouse on the 17th December 1989 and was ordained to the priesthood at Fataki, Zaïre, on the 22nd August 1990. His first appointment in Africa was to the parish of Birni N’Konni, Niamey Diocese, in Niger.

Studies in social and economic sciences followed at Paris in 1996. In 1999, Emmanuel returned to Niger to the parish of Zinder Niamey Diocese, where he became parish priest a few months later. He was elected delegate for the Province of Burkina Faso to the 2004 Chapter. He was appointed Assistant Provincial of Burkina Faso in 2005. He was elected Sector 4 Coun­cillor of the new PAO Province in 2008 and in the same year, took charge as Rector of the Maison Lavigerie, Ouagadougou. On the 8th May 2009, he was appointed Provincial of the PAC and it is in this capacity that he came to the 2010 Chapitre, as ex-officio member.

Peter Welsh

Father Peter Welsh, British, 43, was elected Assistant General of the Society of Missionaries of Africa on the 4th June 2010. Peter was born at Beckenham, England, on the 2nd July 1966. Entering the Society of Missionaries of Africa, he did his Spiritual Year at Fribourg, Switzerland, in 1989-1990. He did his apostolic practice in Niger and was then sent to Totteridge, England, to study theology. He took his Missionary Oath in the Society on the 16th December 1995, at London, and was ordained to the priesthood at his home town of Beckenham on the 6th July 1996. His first appointment in Africa was to Tanzania in October 1996, as curate in Nzera parish, Geita Diocese.

In October 1999, he was curate at Iboja parish in Kahama Diocese. In May of the same year, he was sent to a Muslim majority parish at Makokola, in the Archdiocese of Tabora. In 2005, he was appointed to his home Province of Great Britain to look after the White Fathers - White Sisters Magazine. In 2007, he was elected Provincial Councillor of the Province of Great Britain and in 2008 Delegate Superior of the Sector of Great Britain in the European Province. In May 2010, he came to the Chapter as elected delegate of the European Province.