Charles Phukuta, CICM
Superior General
At the convocation of our General Conference, we were invited to hear anew the challenging and life-giving call of Christ: “Put out into the deep.”1 This is not an invitation only for beginners. It is also a call addressed to us who already know the sea as religious missionaries and leaders who have carried the weight of responsibility, discernment, and service at different levels.
As we journey toward the 2026 CICM General Conference, we are invited once more to return to the living inspiration of our vocation: the bold, generous, and forward-looking spirit of our Founder, Theophile Verbist, and our first confreres. Their footsteps were never set on familiar or comfortable ground. Like the first disciples on the shores of Galilee, they dared to “put out into the deep” (Lk 5:4), trusting the Word of the Lord more than their own convictions. They stepped into the unknown, crossed geographic, cultural, and spiritual borders, and allowed the Gospel to stretch their hearts beyond what seemed possible.
This same invitation resonated strongly during the 2023 General Chapter, when participants reminded us: “Aware of the missionary nature of our Congregation, the General Chapter encourages all confreres and entities to respond to new missionary calls in our world, both within our Provinces and in other countries.” 2 This is far more than an administrative and nostalgic directive. It is a call to rediscover who we are and who we are meant to become. It echoes Pope Francis’s invitation in Evangelii Gaudium to the entire Church to become a community of missionary disciples who take risks, go forth, and dare to reach new peripheries.3
Listening to the Spirit Today
The theme of our General Conference, “Put out into the Deep,” reminds us that mission begins not with strategy but with availability. Jesus invites Peter to push the boat away from the shore of comfort and self-sufficiency into deeper waters where trust, vulnerability, and encounter take place. For religious missionaries, going into the deep today involves opening ourselves to:
- The changing realities of our world, where new forms of poverty, injustice, and loneliness emerge;
- Cultures seeking authentic dialogue, inclusion, and solidarity;
- Generations searching for meaning, purpose, and credible witnesses; and
- Existential peripheries, including migrants, minorities, indigenous communities, and those spiritually wounded or forgotten.
The missionary field is no longer “out there”. It is also present within our communities, ministries, societies, and inner landscapes. This reality calls for openness to the Spirit, who still speaks through the cries of the people, the signs of the times, and the wounds of creation. The General Conference is therefore not only an event but an invitation to conversion. Like Peter, who allowed Jesus to enter his boat, we, too, are invited to let the Lord reorient our fears, hesitations, and dreams toward deeper waters.
A Moment of Renewal
Let this time of preparation be a moment to rekindle the flame of our missionary identity, a moment to ask ourselves, personally and as a Congregation:
- Where is the Lord calling us to cast our nets today?
- What new horizons are opening before us?
- How can we respond with courage, creativity, and realism as one heart and one soul?
As Redemptoris Missio reminds us, mission revitalizes the Church and prevents us from becoming closed in on ourselves.4 Likewise, Pope Francis insisted that the missionary drive is the breath that keeps Christian life alive.5 Thus, our General Conference is an opportunity to breathe again, deeply, boldly, and together. In this spirit of renewal, we are presenting the Prayer for the General Conference in this issue of the Chronica, encouraging daily reflection and silent listening to the Spirit. Prayer is not an accessory but the foundation of our discernment, helping us attune our hearts to God’s voice and guide our collective mission.
Journeying Not as Administrators, but as Missionaries
We do not journey toward the 2026 General Conference only as administrators preparing for a meeting. Let us walk as missionaries, rekindling the fire of hope and daring. May this journey awaken in us the daring spirit that once sent Verbist and our pioneers to the ends of the earth. May it strengthen our communion, deepen our availability, and renew our joy in being sent to the whole world to proclaim the Gospel to all creation.6
Our changing world still needs the Gospel, and the Gospel still needs missionaries whose hearts are receptive and ready to cast their nets into deeper waters. The fruitfulness of Kinshasa will not come from beautiful documents alone but from hearts made docile by the Spirit. The General Conference will be fruitful not because we speak much but because the entire Institute prays much. Let us accompany this journey with persevering prayer, entrusting the 2026 General Conference to the Spirit who leads the Church into new depths of mission and communion.
The deep is calling. Christ is in the boat. At His word, let us go.
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1 Luke 5: 4.
2 Acts of the 16th General Chapter, 2023, p. 22.
3 Evangelii Gaudium, 20, 24.
4 Redemptoris Missio, 2.
5 Evangelii Gaudium, 27.
6 Marc 16: 15. And, Constitutions CICM, art. 2.
