AMECEA: Bakanja Seminary, Hub for Regional Unity says AMECEA Chairman
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
As Blessed Bakanja AMECEA College (BBAC) finalizes preparations for the silver jubilee to be marked Saturday, October 21, the chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) has acknowledged that Bakanja Seminary is the centre point where young men aspiring to be future priests promote regional unity and collaboration, a move he terms as “AMECEAness.”
BBAC was canonically established in 1998 as an inter-regional seminary bringing together young men from the eight AMECEA member conferences and beyond to have high-quality formation to priesthood.
“Bakanja as a regional seminary creates a synergy among seminarians to grow in the spirit of AMECEAness as they undergo education and formation,” AMECEA Chairman Bishop Charles Sampa Kasonde told AMECEA Online in an interview Thursday, October 19, giving highlight on the significance of BBAC in the region.
With this backdrop, the chairman said, the seminary is “a rainbow institution for AMECEA as it brings seminarians from the member episcopal conferences of AMECEA and beyond and also gives the seminarians the opportunity to mix with their peers from across the region.”
Besides, Bishop Kasonde of Zambia’s Solwezi Diocese continued, “Bakanja allows students to be opened up to the community of the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA) which brings out the spectrum of the universality of the Church hence an important institution in the eyes of AMECEA as it forms and adds the number of pastoral ministers in the Church.”
As the seminary prepares to mark 25 years of existence, the Zambian Prelate narrated that the silver jubilee is a reminder of how far AMECEA has moved on with Bakanja from its establishment to date. He points out that Bakanja’s contribution to the Church is seen in the number of priests who have been formed and are working in various countries and dioceses.
Blessed Bakanja College being a seminary owned by AMECEA bishops, the Chairman urges the Church leaders to sacrifice and continue supporting the seminary for the sake of the formation of the young men and in promoting AMECEAness.
“I appeal to all conferences to continue sending their young men for formation to Bakanja and support the seminary,” the Bishop chairman narrated.
According to Bishop Kasonde, the seminary whose objective is to form true African Catholic priests on the model of Our Lord Jesus Christ as they rely on the Lord for sustenance, protection, guidance, consolation, and love, gives holistic and balanced formation to the young men.
The holistic formation he said opens for them (seminarians) doors for integrative growth in human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral development. Additionally, the aspect of community life impacts the lives of the young men, especially those being molded as future diocesan priests to value each other’s abilities.
The chairman added that Bakanja seminarians are privileged to have their academic classes in the university set up, allowing them to associate with people from all walks of life.
