As part of the Poitiers Session program, the day of July 8 was dedicated to the theme of religious consecration, with a conference given by our brother Maxime Menga sscc, a religious of the Province of Africa currently pursuing his doctorate at the Pierre Coudrin community in Paris.
In his conference, titled "Christian Consecration", Father Maxime presented consecration as a unified theological concept, beyond the scattered uses the term receives in ecclesial language. Drawing on the Latin etymology of "consecratio" and on the work of Marc Homedes-Palau, he explained that consecration is not primarily a gesture of self-giving on the part of the subject, but rather an act by which God takes the initiative to set someone apart for himself. He developed its Christological and paschal structure, its ecclesial and liturgical mediation, and the plurality of its expressions — baptismal, religious, episcopal, eucharistic, devotional — emphasizing that all share the same origin, the same form, and the same purpose: holiness and mission.
The reflection concluded by recalling that the formula of religious profession in the Congregation — "in whose service I wish to live and die" — expresses precisely this dynamic: not a state acquired once and for all, but a living and ever-renewed relationship with God.
Afterward, Father Bernard Couronne sscc gave a conference titled "To sacrifice myself for God and die in his service." He spoke to us about consecration according to the Good Father, doing so through five words: call, faith, reparation, love, and path-mission. He addressed us on an existential level. Consecration is above all a call that is welcomed. When the Good Father says "consecration to the SSCC is the foundation of our Institute," he calls us to be a group of missionaries who must proclaim the Gospel. It is a call arising from a missionary intuition. From the experience of La Motte, he directs us toward detachment, toward risk for the sake of mission. The Church in the Founder's time was in ruins. He risked everything for Christ's project, which led him to give his life for the Good God and for the Church. Consecration to the SSCC also speaks to us of sacrifice: sacrifice of one's life in service, an invocation to a martyr's disposition, adherence to the religious community within ecclesial mediation.
The words sacrifice and service are present from the beginning in the Founders. He presented the final disposition to give one's life for the faith as a consequence of the gradual de-Christianization of France at that time. They wanted us all to be zealous adorers of Christ. Our consecration to the SSCC is an act of faith in which we place our trust in Jesus, confident that nothing can separate us from his Love. Consecration to the SSCC of Jesus and Mary is a response to the love manifested in their Hearts.
In the afternoon, we made a pilgrimage to the Irish College, where the Good Father received priestly ordination on March 4, 1792, in the library of that institution, at the hands of Bishop de Bonal.
We celebrated the Eucharist, presided over by Maxime Menga. Before the end of the Eucharist, we read a beautiful welcome message from our sister Mary McCloskey sscc, Provincial Superior of Northern Europe-Quebec. We also gave thanks to God for our sister Lugarda Rodríguez sscc, on her birthday.
07/09/2026