e, Xaverian Missionaries, arrived in Sierra Leone in 1950. We started out in the north where the population is predominantly Muslim and therefore the Gospel finds it hard to make inroads. There we concentrated our attention on schools, cooperatives, health care, and the victims of leprosy.

Unfortunately, since the civil war began in 1991 there has been countless number of deaths, indescribable atrocities and widespread destruction, both in the capital city and the most remote villages throughout the country. By December 1998, due to the political and military crisis and as a result of the rebel occupation of almost the entire northern region of the country, we had to abandon our parishes and missionary activity.

Today, Sierra Leone is a heap of ruins, with hundreds of thousands of refugees in Guinea, Liberia and many others who have escaped to Europe and America. 

The religious, moral and cultural fabric of the nation has been destroyed with ferocity; and the Catholic Church and her missionaries have been singled out as frequent targets for the rebels' anger. They began with the kidnapping of four Xaverian sisters and, later, a number of Xaverian priests.

We are now living with people who have been sorely tried by the destruction unleashed upon them. The vast majority has lost everything, and the population is in great need. Many turn to us for help in getting back home, for food, for repairing their houses, etc.

The peace treaty, signed recently has given us hope that we can now resume normal religious activities. We have already started on an important ministry in Freetown. Together with the local clergy and other religious organizations, we are devising a new pastoral plan in line with the situation in the country. We all are to proclaim Christ and His message in a way that speaks to the concrete historical situation in which we live. This will take place in the following manner:

Reopening the parishes we had to leave in rebel hands for seven months.

Commit ourselves to ministry to the child soldiers and war-affected children, aiming at the reinsertion of these young men into their families and home villages.

Formation of our Xaverian students.

Collaborating in the healing and reconciliation process through conferences, retreats, and courses on peace and conflict resolution.

Striving to form a Christian conscience in our religious and civic leaders through the teaching of the Church's social doctrine.

Religious assistance to the people of Sierra Leone, especially the refugees in the Guinea camps near the border with the district of Kambia.