Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Lord,

Fr. Fratern Masawe, SJ, who has recently gone to the Lord. He was not only a former Regional Assistant for Africa and Madagascar and Assistant ad Providentiam to Father General. He was a baobab tree for the Jesuit Conference of Africa and Madagascar: a man of deep roots, broad vision, and extraordinary commitment to the mission of the Society on our continent.

In African wisdom, the baobab is more than a tree. It is a place of gathering, a source of strength, and a symbol of continuity between generations. Fr Fratern was such a presence among us.

He was a visionary. Indeed, the very property on which we are gathered today bears witness to his foresight. He had the courage to imagine a future for the Conference and the determination to give that vision a concrete foundation. In a very real sense, we are gathered today in a place that his vision helped make possible.

But beyond buildings and institutions, Fr Fratern carried a profound passion for Africa, an Africa bearing the wounds of the Cross, yet also the promise of the Resurrection. He believed in the capacity of the Society of Jesus to accompany this continent in its struggles, its hopes, and its search for a more dignified future. He carried this passion faithfully to the very end.

As recently as September, I had the privilege of exchanging with him about the life and future of our Conference. I was once again struck by the depth of his love for the Society and for Africa. Even then, his concern was not primarily about himself, but about the mission, the future of the Conference, and the responsibility entrusted to us. Today, as we gather to discern the future of formation and our common apostolic mission, I cannot help thinking that we are, in many ways, continuing a journey to which Fr Fratern devoted so much of his life.

The baobab has fallen, but its roots remain. And the seeds it has scattered will continue to bear fruit.

In the wisdom of our African traditions, death does not sever the bonds that unite us with those who have gone before us. Rather, it ushers them into a new form of communion with the living. As Fr Fratern enters the eternal beatitude of the Lord, we dare to contemplate him among our ancestors in faith, those whose lives have become a lasting blessing for the generations that follow. We trust that, in the communion of saints, he will continue to accompany us, no longer through his words and actions, but through his prayers and intercession before God. The baobab that once sheltered us on earth now, we pray, intercedes for us in heaven.

May the Lord whom Fr Fratern served so generously welcome him into His eternal peace. And may his memory inspire us to look beyond our immediate concerns, to dream courageously, and to serve the Society and the peoples of Africa and Madagascar with the same generosity and apostolic passion.

BIO INFORMATION ON LIFE-WORK & MISSION {HERE}