The SMA Plenary Council 2026 began on Monday, 18 May 2026, at the EHJ Domus Fidei in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. Participants received a warm welcome from the Nigerian SMA Province, under the direction of the Provincial Superior, Fr Emmanuel Dim. The Irish participants at this meeting are Frs Malachy Flanagan SMA, Provincial Superior and Damian Bresnahan SMA, Vicar General.
At this international meeting SMA Superiors from around the world have gathered to discuss the current state of the congregation and the 
direction of our mission in the coming years. The meeting began with a welcoming ceremony that included traditional dances and the exchange of symbolic gifts as signs of welcome and hospitality. A welcome address was also delivered by Fr Emmanuel Dim SMA, Provincial Superior of the Nigerian Province during which he expressed the joy of the Province in hosting the Meeting and also the deep missionary roots of the SMA in Nigeria.
Following the welcoming ceremony, the Council moved into its first working session. The meeting will continue until the 30th of May and then from the 31st of May until the 3rd of June a series of events and celebrations marking the triple SMA – OLA Jubilee celebrations, of the 200th Anniversary of the birth of Fr Augustine Planque, the 150th anniversary of the founding of the OLA Congregation and the 170th Anniversary of the founding of the SMA.
We wish all the participants at the Plenary Council, Lagos 2026 well and pray that they will be guided by the Holy Spirit in their discussions and in the decisions they make.
