ELEVATION OF OUR FOUNDER TO THE RANK OF VENERABLE

On 14 April 2025, we received the good news that our beloved Founder, Father Peter Joseph Triest, had been elevated to the rank of Venerable by His Holiness Pope Francis, a few days before his death. In our Province of Saint Vincent de Paul, this date coincided with the installation of the new provincial team. It was a great joy for us, the children of Venerable Peter Joseph Triest to celebrate his memory and mission. We are grateful to God for having an intercessor with Him for our congregations, our communities and our works. We will never cease to invoke him and intensify our prayers in his memory, asking for his intercession for the good of our large religious families.

We celebrated this great feast in two days:

• On Saturday 14 June 2025, we held a conference on the life of our Founder, Venerable Peter Joseph Triest;
• On 24 June 2025, we celebrated the commemoration of the death of our Founder, his elevation to the rank of Venerable, the transfer of his relics and the renewal of vows by the junior sisters.

The conference on the life of our Founder

On Saturday, 14 June 2025, we had a conference on the life of our Founder, facilitated by Brother Paulin KINDAMBU, local superior of the Saint Bernard community of the Brothers of Charity. The entire Triest family was present: the Brothers of Charity, the Sisters of Charity of Jesus and Mary, the lay associates of the brothers and sisters, as well as our collaborators from various ministries. As children of the same father, we rejoiced in being together as a sign of our fraternity and an expression of synodality.

At noon, all the sisters, associates and collaborators were gathered at the provincial house where buses were waiting for us. The brothers, along with their associates and collaborators, joined us. We all went to the Anuarite2 school complex in Tshamalale, where the conference was to take place.

We began with the invocation of the Holy Spirit, sung by the novices and future professed sisters. The moderator, Mama Angèle MUTONKOLE, then introduced the speaker, the novices and the other participants.

Taking the floor, Brother Paulin invited the participants to share their expectations for the conference. Many were expressed, including:

• to learn about the life of Reverend Father Pierre Joseph Triest,
• to understand why he is called Venerable,
• to discover his role in the Church,
• to learn more about his life ...

The speaker then developed his presentation around the following points:

• The conceptual framework
• The biography of the Founder
• Peter Joseph Triest as Founder
• The spirituality of Peter Joseph Triest
• The charism of Peter Joseph Triest

After the presentation, Sister Marie-Jeanne Muleka, Provincial Superior, took the floor to thank the speaker, the moderator, and all those who participated in the conference. This was followed by a photo session and a drink together. It was truly a moment rich in exchange, a joyful reunion, and an opportunity to get to know one another.

Celebrations on 24 June 2025

Tuesday, 24 June 2025 was a special day marked by many significant events:

• The commemoration of the death of our Founder,
• The celebration of his elevation to the rank of Venerable,
• The transfer of his relic from the Notre-Dame d’Espérance community in Tshondo to the Saint-Charles-Lwanga community in Wema,
• The renewal of vows by the young professed sisters.

The celebration began at the Community of Notre-Dame d’Espérance (Our Lady of Hope). We were all gathered together, the sisters, the brothers, a few associates, the postulants and aspirants. The prayer service began in the chapel, led by the sisters of the community. Then the assembly walked in procession, singing, with the relic carried by Sister Jacqueline Asha, superior of the community, and accompanied by lit candles. The procession moved to the monument of our Founder, erected in front of the community. There we placed the candles in the designated spot and recited the prayer to Venerable Pierre-Joseph Triest, asking him to intercede for the protection of our works and communities and for an end to the war in our country, especially in the western part.

After this prayer, we prayed the Our Father, the Hail Mary and the Glory Be, and returned to the Saint Charles Lwanga community in silence and meditation.

Sister Agathe Kayambi, superior of the community, was waiting for us in front of the chapel and received the relic from Sister Jacqueline Asha. We entered the chapel with the relic and sang a song of praise.

We then went to the place prepared for the Eucharistic celebration during which nine junior sisters renewed their vows. The Mass was celebrated by Father Alain KUSI, parish priest of Saint Boniface, and animated by our blind children from Nuru and some sisters from the Saint

Charles Lwanga community. In his homily, the celebrant invited us to be witnesses of Christ following the example of Saint John the Baptist. We must let Christ grow in us. Through his life, John the Baptist bore witness to Christ. He never ceased to say that it was not he who was to come, but that he was only the voice crying in the wilderness. He called people to conversion, showed Christ to the disciples who followed him, denounced the evil deeds of King Herod, who took his brother’s wife, and this cost him his life. He was beheaded in prison because of the truth. As consecrated persons, this is our mission. He concluded by congratulating and encouraging the young sisters who were about to renew their vows to continue on their path and move forward in the footsteps of Christ.

After Mass, we shared a fraternal meal. It was a great joy to be together as a family and children of the same father, the Venerable Peter Joseph Triest.

Sister Léontine Kisimba