Sr Francisca Kameli, from the Eastern Central Africa Province (ECAP), completed a Diploma in Human Development, Formation, Leadership, and Community Building at the St Anselm Institute in Rome in May, 2026. Here she shares about how the program helped her deepen her self-awareness, leadership skills, and understanding of formation through the integration of psychology, spirituality, and multicultural community life.
The aim of this program was to prepare and train me as a leader and formator, and to develop self-awareness and a high EQ (Emotional Quotient) in me by integrating psychology with deep spirituality. It stressed the importance of relationships with God, self, others, and the environment, carried out in the context of multicultural community living based on the model of the Blessed Trinity, believing that the best way to form leaders and formators is “from the inside out”.
Know thyself first
To guide others, we must first know ourselves. It is virtually impossible to understand the psychological, emotional, and spiritual processes of others until we understand something of our own processes. Knowing ourselves, knowing how and why we function the way we do, why we feel the emotions we feel, and how to support others with that compassionate challenge and caring necessary when charged with nurturing their spiritual and personal growth.
During this 8-month program, I have interacted with religious women and men from 13 different countries: “What a diversity of culture!” The various approaches employed by various experts in spirituality and psychology geared to group and individual growth facilitation have helped me to grow as a person, renew myself, and reflect deeply on how I have approached life in the past years, and compassionately challenge myself to purify my life approach by living the new insights gained in the program.
I have been awakened to understand that leaders and facilitators in religious groups and communities face a complex task, one requiring a great depth of understanding of human behavior in addition to a solid grounding in the process of spiritual growth. I have become aware that true compassionate leadership is not possible without these. As a formator or leader at various levels, I am often required to understand and help to resolve the individual’s emotional pains and troubles, which, if left unresolved, will disrupt their lives and those around them.
I appreciate having learned and practiced the personal and spiritual development skills necessary to guide communities and groups in this program, which complement the administrative and business skills offered at other educational institutions.
The core principle of the founder and director of St Anselm Institute, Fr. Len Kofler – “Who I am as a person determines who I am as a leader” – is embedded in the program for developing the psychological, emotional, and spiritual maturity of the person. I feel that, as a participant, I have learned the necessary skills by actively practicing them in small groups and within the larger multicultural community, as well as through facilitated group workshops and individual learning sessions. I appreciate that the program was both theoretical and experiential.
Having graduated from the program on May 19, 2026, I am now fully committed to using this experience to grow in both my faith and knowledge, and I pray that this journey ultimately allows me to practice what I have learned in my life and mission work, e.g., with myself, as a formator and a leader, and in my interactions with people and the environment to better serve my community, the Good Shepherd mission, and the Church.
I am deeply grateful to God, who has been very good and faithful to me, to my Provincial Leadership Team, and to the Congregational Leadership Team for granting me permission to pursue this personal development program and to develop myself.
Thank you for this extraordinary blessing and for trusting me with this opportunity!
Discover more about the Good Shepherd mission in Eastern Central Africa Province here.
