Edited from a submission by Sr Florentine Raharinirina, District Leader of The Isles, Madagascar
Twenty-nine sisters and ten partners-in-mission gathered in Antsirabe, Madagascar, from August 27 to September 1, 2026, for a District Assembly that brought reflection on their shared mission and preparations for regional life. The gathering concluded with the blessing of a new pre-novitiate chapel, built as the community prepares to welcome eleven young women into formation.
The Assembly took place at a spiritual center run by the Carmelite sisters of St. Thérèse of Turin, with accompaniment from Father Fabrice Laurdin, a Spiritan priest. Its theme, “With the Holy Spirit, moving forward toward the newness God prepares for us,” guided participants as they considered both the experience of recent years and the changes ahead.
The agenda included evaluating how the District Directives had been lived since 2019, electing delegates to the forthcoming Regional Chapter, and marking the transition from District to Region. Group discussions brought sisters and partners-in-mission together to contribute to this process.
These tasks form part of the Congregation’s wider restructuring, which seeks to sustain community life and mission through stronger leadership capacity, shared resources and the fuller engagement of partners-in-mission.
A particularly meaningful moment of the Assembly was its closing Mass, presided over by Bishop Jean Pascal Andriantsoavina. The celebration marked the transition toward regional life in prayer.
The gathering also offered an opportunity to celebrate the future of formation in Madagascar. The Good Shepherd community has been present in Antsirabe since 2013, and the expected arrival of eleven young women beginning formation in 2026 prompted the construction of a larger chapel. Bishop Andriantsoavina blessed the new chapel and consecrated its altar.
The sisters expressed their thanksgiving through dance in the chapel and the community courtyard. More than seventy people were invited to the meal following Mass, which ended with the cutting of a cake.
District Leader Sr. Florentine thanked everyone whose presence, work, and support had made the Assembly and chapel inauguration possible. Their gratitude concluded with a prayer: “May the Lord, our Good Shepherd, fill each of you with his grace and his great kindness.”
