e, Xaverian Missionaries, arrived in Burundi in 1960 following upon the urgent the appeals by the Bishops who wished that we take up the pastoral care of a number of Christian communities which still had no pastors and to care for the youth in dire need of formation. We are quite known for our work in team ministry with other missionary groups and laity, our organization of social works and our constant effort to develop a pastoral method that is rooted in the every day life of the people.

We work in mission awareness and the formation of native Xaverian candidates. We strive for a greater insertion in the local Church and its structures (working at the Diocesan Pastoral Centers, teaching at the Diocesan Seminary, preaching spiritual retreats, etc.,), without neglecting traditional pastoral work (formation of catechists and pastoral agents, Catholic Youth movements, Basic Christian Communities, and Diocesan commissions).

At the Center Jeune Kamenge (which was founded to provide a formation on conflict resolution to young people, as a meeting place for bringing young people together), we work with young people who are faced with drug problems, delinquency, gangs, and prostitution in their own districts. They experience a lack of self-esteem and a lack of trust in God. In addition, the Center also provides a place where young people can learn together to overcome religious, ethnic and cultural differences through various activities of a cultural, sporting and religious nature.

In the midst of civil war, political uncertainty and ethnic conflicts, we are forced to live in a constant state of emergency and in contact with injustice and violence of every kind. This makes us commit ourselves to promoting justice and defending the dignity and rights of every human person, as well as the social development of Burundi. We work especially with groups and commissions in directly denouncing injustice, or in the animation of local operators in this field.

We are living in a very stressful situation. The struggle for power and external influences that find their principal support in ethnic divisions are the cause of the great evils that torment the population: arbitrary arrests, refugee camps, overcrowded prisons, lack of trust in authority, discouraged youth, grave material and moral misery, broken families and communities, deep crisis in human and Christian values, an uncertain future. Our knowledge of the suffering and injustice inflicted upon the people compels us to express our solidarity with them.