Reverend Father Charles Phukuta Khonde has been re-elected for a second six-year term as head of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary (CICM). This news was announced in a message from Father Matthieu Ndjeok, Secretary General, addressed to all members of the Congregation. He congratulated Father Charles on his re-election and asked God to help him assume this great responsibility with love and courage for the good of the Institute and the mission entrusted to him.
Father Charles Phukuta is a 57-year-old Congolese from Mayombe. He has been a member of the CICM Congregation since 1990 and was ordained a priest in 1999 in the United States, where he worked as a vicar in a parish in La Joya, Texas. In 2002, he created a new CICM community in Raleigh, North Carolina, and was appointed parish priest of Saint Eugene in Wendell.
In 2006, he was appointed Secretary General of his Congregation and in 2012, Provincial Superior of the United States. In 2017, he became the second African to lead the CICM Congregation of pontifical right, replacing the American father Timothy Atkin.
The General Chapter is an assembly of delegates from all the provinces, which meets every six years to elect the members of the General Government and formulate the directives which govern the Congregation. The current General Chapter began on June 4 and continues until June 30.
This re-election of Father Charles Phukuta Khonde is a sign of the confidence shown in him by the members of the CICM Congregation. We wish him courage and inspiration for the pursuit of his mission. Indeed, his re-election is an opportunity to arouse the interest of young Congolese vocations who want to engage in the Church and contribute to the spiritual and social development of the country.