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The '''White Fathers''' ({{lang-fr|Pères Blancs}}), officially known as the '''Missionaries of Africa''' ({{lang-la|Missionarii Africae}}) and abbreviated '''MAfr'''),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Missionaries of Africa (M. Afr.)|url=http://www.gcatholic.org/orders/030.htm|access-date=2021-12-12|website=GCatholic}}</ref> are a [[Catholic Church|Roman Catholic]] [[society of apostolic life]] of Pontifical Right (for Men) founded in 1868 by then [[Archbishop]] of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Algiers|Algiers]] [[Charles Lavigerie|Charles-Martial Allemand-Lavigerie]].<ref>{{cite web|work=Gcatholic|title= Missionaries of Africa (M.AFR) White Fathers |year=2021|url=http://www.gcatholic.org/orders/030.htm|accessdate=15 November 2021}}</ref>
The society focuses on [[evangelism]] and [[education]], mostly in [[Africa]]. In 2021, there were 14281,428 members of the Missionaries of Africa of 36 nationalities, working in 42 countries, in 217 communities.<ref name="blanc" />
==History==
* 1,712 in 2007.
At present, in 2021, the Society is repartedconstituted as follows:
-1,144 Missionaries of Africa – fully professed [[priest]]s, [[deacon]]s and brothers:
=== Formation ===
BecomingPresently, athe Whiteprocess Fatherto inbecome thea presentWhite Father is much longer than before. To complete the process of preparation, the candidates must first spend one year in a preparatory centre. Then comes the study of [[Philosophy]] for 3 or 4 years. The next step is the Spiritual Year which takes place in one of 3 centres in Africa. Two are English-speaking, one is French-speaking. The final period of study of 4 years takes place in [[Africa]] or [[Jerusalem]].<ref name="Preparation"/>
==Aims==
| 1894-11 November 1922 || Archbishop Léon Livinhac
|-
| 1922-1936 || Fr. [[Paul Ulrich Villard|Paul Voillard]]
|-
| 22 April 1936 – 30 April 1947 || Bishop [[Joseph-Marie Birraux]]
| 27 May 2016 – Present|| Fr. Stanley Lubungo
|}
== African perspectives of the 'White Fathers' ==
{{Unreferenced section|date=May 2022}}{{POV section|talk=Neutrality of 'African perspectives' section|date=May 2022}}
Africans regularly articulated their views and were not afraid to apply pressure to the missionaries such as using military resistance which was bitter but well organised. A bishop was appointed in [[Algiers]] in 1838. [[Antoine-Adolphe Dupuch|Bishop Antoine-Adolphe Dupuch]], who was born in [[Algeria]], was a bishop who was eager to convert Emir Abd el-Kadar to Christianity yet while doing so. He established a dialogue and friendly relations with the emir of Algiers. The political and military powers were slow to accept the Christian missions in the region as well as some [[Freemasonry|Freemasons]] also refused to support the missionaries. [[Charles Lavigerie|Bishop Lavigerie]] made sure that there would be no conversions of Muslims to Christianity as he understood how rooted many were to their faith, Lavigerie came to this understanding after coming to Algeria he realised that Algerian Islam was different to that of Islam practised in Syria and he feared that proselytism would cause unrest among the Muslim population, his position was informed by [[Emir Abdelkader|Emir Abd el-Kader]] who risked his safety and whose actions and influence had protected and sheltered many Christians in 1860 during the [[1860 civil conflict in Mount Lebanon and Damascus|Druze conflict]] which was a civil conflict between local [[Druze]] and Christians. Many White Fathers understood Islam and maintained the course of dialogue during World Wars, wars of decolonisation and post-colonial crises, which meant that Africans began to trust them and learn alongside them as the White Fathers did not have the intention of forcing religion on to them. However, not many White Fathers understood the meaning of Islam and how important this faith was but were willing to learn some more about the religion and its teachings than others. For Africans this allowed them to build a relationship with the missionaries and many chose to convert to Christianity on their own terms.
== Zambia ==
== Dress and membership ==
Africa is a continent with high levels of Islamic worship which meant that the White Fathers would wear robes that resembled those of [[Arab-Berber|Algerian Arab]]s. Algerian Arab robes were ones filled with colours and patterns which were known as [[kaftan]]s, while the White Father missionaries were usually pure white and, in some cases, black. The design was also different as it resembled more of a [[cassock]], whichthe is a coat that is a piece of Christiantraditional clerical clothingattire and is worn mainlyfor in the Catholic ChurchCatholicism. However, the climate across Africa meant that wearing a cassock would not be suitable, so robes were designed with inspiration from a [[gandoura]], which is a popular article of clothing in Africa made from cotton and a light material, which suits the weather conditions. To accompany this was a long white cloak known as a [[burnous]]. These men would wear a rosary around their neck to show that they were men of religion and prayer, and the rosary resembled the [[misbaha]] of the [[Marabout]]s.
== Archives ==
Photographic archives related to the ‘White Fathers missionary work from throughout the 20th century can be found in various archives such as in the [[Smithsonian Institution|Smithsonian]], which provide images of the missions and the Africans living near them in [[Rwanda]] and [[Burundi]]. Similar photographs exist in the [[University of Birmingham]] archives and detail a variety of missionary work in several African countries.<ref name="calmview.bham.ac.uk"/>
==Publications==
*''Proche-Orient Chrétien'', a journal published in Jerusalem
==See also==
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