9-15 March 2026

Vatican News

Pope Leo mourns victims in Middle East, prays for peace (Photo: Vatican News)Pope Leo XIV expressed profound sorrow for the victims of recent bombings in the Middle East, including children and those who care for them, such as Maronite priest Fr. Pierre El-Rahi, who was killed in Qlayaa, Lebanon, on Monday while assisting parishioners under fire from an Israeli tank. Fr. El-Rahi, aged 50, died in hospital after being wounded while rushing to a house struck by the tank, despite repeated evacuation orders in the area. Fr. Toufic Bou Merhi, a Latin-rite parish priest in Tyre and Deirmimas, described Fr. El-Rahi as a devoted pastor and noted growing fear among Christians, with many displaced by the conflict. Fr. Merhi also highlighted the humanitarian crisis, with over 300,000 people fleeing southern Lebanon and 200 displaced Muslims sheltered at a Tyre monastery, while urging an end to violence and a return to dignity. Read more →

Good Shepherd Sisters warn civilians paying highest price in Middle East (Photo: Vatican News)The Sisters of the Good Shepherd reported that over 500,000 people have been displaced in Lebanon within a week due to escalating violence in the Middle East, particularly in Iran, with civilians, especially women, girls, and children, bearing the heaviest burden. Speaking from Beirut, the sisters warned that the surge in military actions is worsening an already fragile humanitarian crisis, forcing families to flee with no belongings and urgently needing food, medical care, and shelter. The congregation is providing medical and psychosocial support through the Saint-Antoine Dispensary and the Good Shepherd mission while appealing for international intervention to establish ceasefire zones and protect civilians. They also called for global prayer for those affected and a peaceful resolution to the conflict. Read more →

Ghana Catholic Bishops institute annual Mass towards the beatification of Cardinal Peter… (Photo: Vatican News)The Ghana Catholic Bishops' Conference, led by President Bishop Matthew Kwasi Gyamfi, has instituted an annual Mass to support the beatification of Cardinal Peter Dery, urging the faithful to pray for this intention. The cause for Dery’s beatification began in June 2013, when the Church in Ghana formally requested the Congregation for the Causes of Saints to investigate his life and virtues, receiving the Vatican’s “nihil obstat” on 13 July 2013. The diocesan phase opened in Tamale on 9 May 2015, gathering testimonies from 45 witnesses across multiple dioceses to assess his heroic virtue. Cardinal Dery, Ghana’s first indigenous priest and later cardinal, died in Tamale on 6 March 2008 at age 89. Read more →

Regional Activities

Asia and Oceania

Indonesia: A Visit of Listening and Missionary Renewal (Photo: OMI World)During his pastoral visit to Indonesia in late 2023, Superior General Fr. Luis Ignacio Rois Alonso, OMI, traveled from Jakarta to East Borneo, Yogyakarta and Central Java to meet Oblates and Mazenodian Family members. In Jakarta he visited St. Mary Immaculate Parish’s Waste Bank, met pastoral councils and youth, and urged the Oblate Charismatic Family to live the charism through gratitude, shared learning and communal mission. In Balikpapan he greeted the Dayak people, prayed at the graves of pioneer Oblates Fathers Rebussi, Bertolini and Bonometti, and told a young person to “be human first, then Christian, and finally become saints.” At Yogyakarta’s scholasticate he reminded formators that quality formation matters more than numbers, and in Kaliori he opened the annual Oblate Gathering with the theme “Do this, and you shall live.” Read more →

Ongoing Consultation on Restructuring (Photo: OMI World)The Oblates of Mary Immaculate have launched a Congregation-wide consultation on restructuring, inviting all members to study proposals stemming from the August 2025 Interchapter in India and submit feedback by 30 April 2026. The process, guided by the Superior General’s letter of 20 February 2026, frames restructuring as a call to religious conversion and renewal of mission, inviting communities to discern governance changes prayerfully. Comments will be collected by the ad hoc Restructuring Committee and presented to the Superior General and Council ahead of the 2028 General Chapter. Read more →

Latin America

CIAL Asuncion 2026: Strengthening the Heart of the Region (Photo: OMI World)Major superiors and representatives from Oblate units across Latin America and the Caribbean gathered in Asunción, Paraguay, from March 2 to 7, 2026, for the Latin American Interprovincial Conference (CIAL) assembly at the Central House of the Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate. Fr. Jorge ALBERGATI, OMI, a General Councilor, joined the meeting to deepen ties between the region and the Congregation’s leadership. The gathering focused on prayer, shared discernment, and practical discussions about formation, community life, mission strategies, and restructuring, with special attention to the interprovincial novitiate and continental commissions. Participants also visited the future novitiate house and prayed at the Basilica of Our Lady of Caacupé before concluding with a fraternal celebration, marking the assembly as a time of renewed communion and shared mission. Read more →

Europe

Madrid: A Fraternal Meeting for Europe’s Mission (Photo: OMI World)From February 16–21 in Pozuelo de Alarcón near Madrid, 17 Oblates from nine European countries met with Fr. Alberto Gnemmi of the General Council to pray and reflect on the continent’s missionary challenges. The gathering took place in a house linked to the 1936 arrest and death of 22 Oblates during the Spanish Civil War, whose witness framed the discussions. Participants addressed declining vocations, Church restructuring and formation needs, stressing accompaniment as central to welcoming Oblates from other regions. The meeting prepared the way for a June 14–21 session in Snagov, Romania, where European major superiors will meet with the Congregation’s central leadership. Read more →

Canada and United States

Notre-Dame-du-Cap: A Wind of Renewal Begins to Rise (Photo: OMI World)On March 10, 2026, about forty Oblates gathered in Richelieu for their provincial assembly, marking 200 years since the approval of their Constitutions and 185 years in North America. Despite an average age of 85, with 79 Oblates with perpetual vows and one in formation, they used the "Conversation in the Spirit" method to discern their mission’s future. They found hope in shared prayers and a growing realization that the Oblate mission involves a wider missionary family, including associates, youth, and laypeople. Their challenge now is to listen to the Spirit and invite more people into their shared mission. Read more →

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