Novena of Prayer for Oblate Vocations
May 21-29, 2026

As we celebrate the bicentennial of the approval of our Constitutions and Rules, we prepare to enter the Novena for the Week of Prayer for Oblate Vocations, from May 21 to 29. These reflections invite us to return to the living source of our charism, renewing both our identity and our missionary commitment. 

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In the letter addressed to the entire Oblate charismatic family on February 17, 2026, the Superior General, Father Luis Ignacio ROIS ALONSO, expressed this profound wish: “Celebrating the charism leads us to explore the new paths we must take to flesh it out it in our world and in our Church today.”

In light of this invitation, the bicentenary emerges, not merely as an act of grateful remembrance, but also as a genuine new starting point, a renewed call to creative fidelity.

It is within this perspective that we deemed it fitting to offer, throughout this novena, meditations focusing on the nine constituent elements of our charism, in order to help us immerse ourselves once again in the living spring of our Oblate identity, to “re-immerse” ourselves in that which grounds our very being and mission. To embark upon this journey, these words must resonate powerfully in our ears and in our hearts: “Do this, and you shall live.” These are the words spoken by the one who “holds the place of God”, the Superior General or his delegate, as he hands the Constitutions and Rules to the newly professed member: the true handbook of life for our religious family. Indeed, this is the theme that runs like a watermark through the entirety of the proposed meditations, serving as their essential key to interpretation.

It becomes clear, then, that true life springs forth from this dynamic of incarnation. Doing becomes the source of living. One might even venture to offer a symbolic formulation: Doing (putting into practice) = Living (entering into fullness).

May this dual dynamic become the living spring that deeply nourishes our Oblate identity, rekindles our fervor, and renews our missionary commitment, through the meditations offered during this novena.

These meditations are the fruit of a collective effort, born of the generous collaboration of numerous Oblate confreres from the Africa-Madagascar Region. We offer them here our deepest gratitude.

By Gabriel Pathou Matakumba, OMI

Published on the OMI World website