The Apostolic Life Community of Priests in the Opus Spiritus Sancti (ALCP/OSS) is a Catholic Missionary Society with origins from Germany in the Catholic Diocese of Limburg where her founder came from. The founder of this Society is the late Rev. Fr. Bernhard Bendel who was also the first member in November, 1974.
As a Missionary Society, ALCP/OSS came to make the first roots in Moshi-Tanzania (Catholic Diocese of Moshi) after the founder being welcomed by the then bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Moshi late Rt. Rev. Bishop Joseph Kilasara, CSsp who was a member of the Congregation of the Holy Ghost Fathers. The founder was also invited by another bishop in Tanzania namely, late Rt. Rev. Bishop Adrian Mkoba, the bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Morogoro.
With this invitation, the initial stages to have ALCP/OSS Missionary members started in 1974 and in 1977 we had the first two ordained Priests. The Society didn’t have its formation house and the centre i.e. General Office and Provincial Office. Thus, in 1977 the work of building the formation house which also became the Mother House and the Provincial House and Offices started at a place called Sabuko in Sanya Juu-SIHA District, Kilimanjaro Region.
The official beginning was on the 27th February, 1980 with eighteen (18) seminarians for first year of formation with three Priests.
The first building had in it the outer and inside kitchen, dining, two classrooms and a recreation room. At this beginning, one of the classroom was a dormitory for the 18 seminarians while the recreation room was a chapel for prayers and Holy Mass. The buildings continued and after completion, it could hold about forty seminarians and Priests together. This became now not only the formation house but also the Mother House for the ALCP/OSS since it is the first House in history for the ALCP/OSS since founded.
As the Society continues to grow in number of the ordained members, there came the need to have the Provincial House and Offices. The buildings were set aside the formation House and Mother House building where to the present it can accommodate 34 people with a separate building for Provincial Offices with a hall for seminars, conferences and retreats and another hall as dining hall attached to a kitchen and stores. At the Provincial House resides the Provincial Superior and his Council. He the Superior of the Africa Province.
The General Offices are located in Soweto-Moshi Town in the Cathoilc Diocese of Moshi. Here resides the Superior General and his General Council. The Superior General is the Superior of the Whole Society over the world.
We thank God for opening the Society and its members to their apostolate all over the world > in Africa, India, Europe (Germany and Italy) and in U.S.A.
