The mission at Dakar was started by the Spiritans in 1846; seventy years later, Mgr. Jalabert, the Bishop of Senegambia, launched the idea of building a cathedral in the same place to the glory of God and the memory of all the missionaries who gave their lives for Africa. It would be called the "Cathédrale du Souvenir African".
A symbol of the implantation of the Church in Africa
Mission is the work of God given concrete form by the hands of missionaries. The gift of their lives, their inculturation in a foreign country, their sanctification and their apostolic zeal - all these things produced much fruit. Jesus was brought close to people by the witness of their lives and their visits to those who were most neglected. Their social and educational works contributed to the overall development of peoples. Through their trials, sickness and death, they shared the lot of those to whom they brought the Good News. As one writer from Senegal put it,
"The birth and growth of the Church in this country has made us aware of the presence of God and his divine providence. The courage and generosity of the missionaries, our fathers in the faith, was admirable".
It is difficult to appreciate the witness given by so many missionaries when their only memorial is an overgrown and abandoned grave, or a simple church they erected in the early days of the mission. Mgr. Jalabert wanted to do something so that the memory of the work of God that was accomplished by those who went before should not be forgotten. Hence the project of the memorial cathedral. In 1912, he wrote a letter to Daniel Brottier, a young Spiritan who had been working in Senegal but had to return to France for medical reasons:
"Do you feel able to build a temple for the Lord? Your health prevents you from working any more in Africa that you love so much, but you could do splendid work for Africa in Paris. Throughout France, you could organise collections, conferences, bring-and-buy sales and all kinds of other money-raising events to arouse enthusiasm and generosity for our future cathedral"
The plans for the cathedral were drawn up, but the first world war put a stop to the work, and in January 1920, Mgr. Jalabert and fifteen other Spiritans were drowned in the shipwreck of the "Afrique". But work was resumed and the cathedral was finally consecrated on February 2, 1936, just a few weeks before the death of Daniel Brottier.
