Help strengthen the shepherds who lead the Lord’s flock.

Sep 29

3 min read

REGNUM CHRISTI 2026

Father Gronotte and his team walk door to door, praying with the poor bring them spiritual and material nourishment — Lay evangelizers go door to door through remote mountain communities, leading rosaries and preparing families for the sacraments.

Thirty years after a genocide killed nearly a million people, the wounds have not disappeared from Rwanda.

They have been passed on into families, parishes, and even priests who were formed inside a traumatized Church, priests who preach, celebrate sacraments, and accompany the dying, all while carrying a pain that no one has helped them name or address.

Fr. Dain Scherber, LC, knows this. Based in Côte d’Ivoire, he flies to Rwanda several times a year to lead healing retreats for clergy. For four days, a priest can set down what he has been carrying long enough to find that he does not have to carry it alone.

Fr. Dain equips youth leaders, too. He trains one young man and one young woman from each parish to bring Christ to their peers in the language of their own generation.

Your support of Catholic World Mission helps shape our Church’s current and future leaders, not only in Rwanda but also in Rome, where seminarians from Africa’s poorest dioceses are being formed to carry their ministry home … in Kraków, Poland, where young missionaries are choosing faith in a city that has nearly forgotten it … and in Atlanta, where prayer has become a consecrated woman’s mission.

REGNUM CHRISTI 2026 — **Fr. Dain Scherber, LC, helps Rwandan priests heal through prayer, Scripture, and Catholic psychology.**

PROJECT UPDATE

Healthy Pastors, Healthy Ministry in Rwanda

September 2026

Thanks to the generosity of Catholic World Mission donors, 61 major seminarians from the Catholic Diocese of Cyangugu in Rwanda participated in a three-day formation program designed to strengthen their priestly vocation, deepen their prayer life, and prepare them for future ministry. Following three months of pastoral service in local parishes, the seminarians gathered for spiritual renewal, reflection, and fraternity as they continue discerning God's call to serve His Church. The session was facilitated by Fr. Dain Scherber and provided an opportunity for spiritual reflection, learning, and fraternal sharing.

A TIME TO RENEW THEIR CALLING :

61 major seminarians participated in the formation session.
The program was held from August 31 to September 4, 2026, at the Centre Diocésain de Pastorale Incuti in Cyangugu, Rwanda.
Seminarians reflected on their experiences serving in parishes during a three-month pastoral placement.
Formation sessions focused on strengthening vocation awareness, sustaining commitment to the priesthood, and fostering fraternity among future priests.
The seminarian formation was the first phase of the broader Healthy Pastors, Healthy Ministry initiative, which will also include a spiritual retreat for diocesan priests.

The formation program provided seminarians with an opportunity to renew their commitment to Christ and His Church through prayer, spiritual reflection, and vocational discernment. By strengthening their spiritual lives and encouraging fraternal support among future priests, the program helped prepare these young men to serve God's people with greater faith, compassion, and dedication.

The seminarians also reflected on their recent parish ministry experiences, allowing them to connect their academic formation with the pastoral realities they will encounter as future shepherds of the Church.

"This formation session has greatly helped us to strengthen our calling to the priesthood and renew our commitment to serve the Church and especially the poor and those in need." — Deacon Fabien TUYISHIME, speaking on behalf of the seminarians

Help prepare the shepherds who will guide the next generation. Your gift supports spiritual formation for seminarians and renewal for priests serving communities in need.

MAKE A DIFFERENCE TODAY