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The Dutch province of the Society for African Missions is celebrating its centennial this year. This will be celebrated on Monday, May 29th (Whit Monday) with a large feast day and reunion in Bemelen, near Cadier en Keer.
The SMA arrived in the Netherlands at the end of the 19th century, but for the first few years, the community in the Netherlands was part of the French province. More and more Dutch priests and students arrived. In 1923, the general council in Rome was convinced that the SMA presence in the Netherlands was viable enough to establish its own province.
On April 5 of that year – exactly 100 years ago – the first board of the independent Dutch province was appointed. The first provincial was Father Hubert Paulissen from Maastricht, who would later become Bishop of Kumasi in present-day Ghana. The provincial board established itself in a vacant monastery in the village of Bemelen, just two kilometers from the existing mission college in Cadier en Keer.
Because the Dutch province originated in Bemelen, it was decided to celebrate the centennial there as well. The old monastery still stands, but was sold in 1948 and has served various purposes since then, including as a European seminary and a hotel. A few years ago, it was converted into an apartment complex. Therefore, the anniversary celebration will not take place in the former provincialate, but in and around the parish church of Bemelen. The celebration will begin with a Eucharistic celebration, followed by a garden party in the garden of the rectory next to the church. Incidentally, this is also the house where the current Dutch provincial, Father Jos Pijpers, lives.
Follow the anniversary celebration online on May 29
The 100th anniversary will be celebrated on Pentecost Monday, May 29th, at 11:00 a.m. with a Eucharistic celebration at the Laurentius Church in Bemelen. This service can also be followed live via the link below.
