The first Carmelite Day in Burkina Faso took place on Sunday, April 30, 2023 at the monastery of our O.Carm Friars, in Bobo-Dioulasso. Ninety-two people from the cities of Gourcy, Ouagadougou, Nouna, Dédougou and Bobo-Dioulasso took part in this Day. They belonged to the great family of Carmel: O.Carm., OCD, Carmelite Missionary Sisters, Sisters of Providence of la Pommeraye, Sisters of Saint Teresa of Avesnes, Teresian Sisters (Gourcy), Missionaries of the Immaculate (Sisters of Living Water), Secular Carmel, Carmelite Third Order and the Donum Dei Family.
Sunday Mass was presided over by a new priest, Fr Joseph Bassié O. Carm. During the day there were lectures, meetings, exchanges on the topics presented, and the presentation of each community or institution of the great Carmelite family, with details on the founder, the charism, the genesis of their affiliation to the Order of Carmel and their mission.
The day ended with a cultural and recreational evening enlivened by the choir of Notre Dame du Mont Carmel of Bobo and some performances offered by religious communities. This first edition has allowed us to set out together, as Pope Francis invites us, as the great Carmelite family present in Burkina Faso.
