The high-level summit will convene under the theme 'Christ, Source of Hope, Reconciliation and Peace' and is expected to be a pivotal moment in shaping the future of the Catholic Church in Africa.
Held every three years, the SECAM Plenary Assembly is the most significant gathering of African Catholic leaders, bringing together Cardinals, Archbishops, Bishops, priests, religious men and women, and lay faithful from all 54 African countries and island nations.
The Kigali meeting will host approximately 250 delegates, as well as dignitaries and partners from other continents, making it a truly continental and global ecclesial event.
The Assembly, which coincides with the Jubilee Year of the Catholic Church, will be presided over by His Eminence Fridolin Cardinal Ambongo Besungu, Archbishop of Kinshasa and President of SECAM.
Building on the work of the 19th Assembly held in Accra in 2022, the Kigali summit will focus on strengthening synodality, theological depth, institutional autonomy, and regional collaboration within the Church in Africa.
Setting a vision for the next 25 years
A central outcome of the Kigali Assembly will be the adoption of a strategic vision document for 2025â€"2050, titled 'The Vision of the Churchâ€"Family of God in Africa and its Islands.'
The document is the result of extensive consultations led by SECAM's Standing Committee and Secretariat since 2022. It lays out a roadmap for the Church's pastoral mission, institutional development, and engagement with the continent's evolving realities.
The vision is anchored in twelve foundational pillars. These include evangelisation through Catholic education and theological formation, the development of a self-reliant Church, promoting family-based leadership models, and advancing missionary discipleship and synodality. It also emphasises strengthening care for creation, increasing youth engagement, and driving ecclesial renewal.
Other pillars focus on promoting justice, peace, and integral human development; fostering ecumenism and interfaith dialogue; expanding digital evangelisation efforts; improving health and well-being for all; enhancing liturgical life in African contexts; and deepening the Church's role in political and civic life.
Addressing cultural and social realities
One of the more complex topics to be discussed is the pastoral accompaniment of Catholics in polygamous unions. Recognising this as a deep cultural reality in many parts of the continent, SECAM has invited theologians to study the issue from both theological and pastoral perspectives. A pastoral document on this topic will be presented during the Assembly.
Other key presentations include a theological reflection on the Assembly's theme, departmental and regional Church reports, and group working sessions. The event will also feature liturgical celebrations and conclude with a final message addressed to both the Church and the wider society.
Engaging Africa's broader challenges
In addition to its ecclesial focus, the Assembly will confront several pressing social, political, and economic issues affecting Africa today. These include governance and public leadership, human rights and social justice, poverty and debt, environmental sustainability, interreligious dialogue and peacebuilding, and the protection and safeguarding of young people.
Through this historic gathering, SECAM aims to reaffirm the Church's mission of being a prophetic voice in society and a source of hope, reconciliation, and peace for Africa and its people.
The Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) of the Catholic Church was officially established on July 29, 1969, during the first-ever papal visit to Africa by Pope St. Paul VI. The Pope also presided over the closing ceremony of the inaugural SECAM meeting on July 31, 1969.
The continental body was born out of the desire of African bishops during the Second Vatican Council (1962â€"1965) to establish a unified voice on matters concerning the Church in Africa and Madagascar. July 29 is now observed as SECAM Day by the Catholic Church across the continent.
Wycliffe Nyamasege
