Apostles of Jesus
APOSTLES OF JESUS
The Apostles of Jesus (AJ) is an order of men founded in 1968 for the express purpose of the evangelization of Africa and the world. The founders were two Italian Comboni missionaries, Bishop Sixtus Mazzoldi (d. 1987) and the Reverend John Marengoni (MCCJ), working in Uganda. They shared the conviction that for it to survive in Africa as elsewhere in the world, the Catholic Church needs indigenous diocesan clergy as well as missionaries. The mission statement of the Apostles of Jesus gives priority to the work of evangelization and emphasizes the spiritual, pastoral, and social ministry to all people with preference to the poor. Their work is carried out by founding parishes and helps existing parishes to become self-supporting. The Apostles of Jesus promote vocations to the priesthood, religious life, and lay ministry. Within a few decades after their founding, the Apostles of Jesus were ministering in Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Tanzania, and South Africa, and later in the United States in the dioceses of New York and Allentown, PA. They have minor seminaries in Tanzania, Uganda, and Kenya where they also have a major seminary for the study of philosophy and theology.
[p. o. gaggawala]