Our History & Montfortian Legacy
Our History & Montfortian Legacy
The Montfortian Itinerant Team (1988–2005) was a mobile formation unit that traveled across dioceses in southern Malawi, animating Parish Pastoral Teams, Catechists, and lay leadership on Small Christian Communities (SCCs) as a new way of being Church. Inspired by the Second Vatican Council's definition of 'Church', this ecclesial approach appealed to the Bantu people's sense of belonging and, at the same time, was revolutionary: non-ordained Christians are not passive recipients but active agents of evangelization, hence the need for their own spiritual accompaniment and leadership formation.
Rooted in the missionary spirit of St. Louis‑Marie Grignion de Montfort (1673–1716), the Montfort Itinerant Team embodied his conviction that evangelization must be integral – transforming the whole person to become the blazing fire sent by God to reform the Church and renew the face of the earth. The final document on Synodality (no. 57) insists that for a practical expression of a participatory and co-responsible Church in mission, formation, or rather, empowerment is essential. This explains why the Montfortian itinerant missions became relevant.
The concept of IGNIS as a Montfortian institute for leadership formation is born from this legacy. We recognize that while the itinerant model was highly effective, its sustainability was challenged by a mindset that underestimated the theological capacity of the laity, lack of structured accompaniment follow‑ups and institutional ownership, insufficient resource mobilization, and digital adaptation. Today, IGNIS builds on that foundation while addressing those gaps and reading the signs of the times.
Our Mission, Vision & Values
Church leadership in Eastern Africa – ordained, religious, and lay – ablaze with God's love for humanity, spiritually grounded, practically competent, and passionately committed to renewing the Church and society, so much that everyone they empower experiences the transforming power of Jesus' spirit.
To ignite in leaders of the Church and Church institutions a transformative passion for service through integral formation that combines personal conversion, practical wisdom, and communal discernment – rooted in Montfortian spirituality, Synodality, and the African wisdom 'We are, therefore I am'.
Integral Formation, Learning‑to‑Action, Ubuntu & Synodality, Mission‑Driven Excellence, and Inclusivity.
What Sets Us Apart
One thing is to produce competent leaders who will be inspired to be transformational. IGNIS, however, holds the view that passion and skill must be closely enkindled so much that formation and mission become one.
Our formation draws on centuries of Montfortian mission experience, which focused on deepening faith and renewal of baptismal promise at the end of a catechetical journey. The modern quest of young people and the laity for deepening of Catholic faith through structured and ongoing catechetical initiation, blended with Catholic Social Teaching, promises a Church that is filled with Christians who are convinced about their faith, and a leadership that ushers in a better world and a synodal Church.
IGNIS trains and accompanies in a Montfortian way the individual, elected team leaders, and Church institutions so that they may gain practical leadership competence for a lasting renewal that begins with the self.
