Members of Church Life Africa (CLA) are mobilizing youthful Catholic laity in an initiative aimed at realizing a theological renewal on the continent. In an interview with ACI Africa following the 2025 Church Life Africa Conference held at the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN), CLA Coordinator, Fr. Kenneth Amadi, said that the initiative seeks to gather “foot soldiers” to become deeply rooted in theology, confident in Catholic culture, and prepared to serve Africa and the global Church with clarity, courage, and faith.
CLA was conceived at the University of Notre Dame in the United States, inspired by two realizations: the West’s growing assertion that Africa represents the Church’s future, and the success of the American Church in cultivating a theologically empowered lay apostolate.
“We kept hearing over and over again that the future of the Church is in Africa, but Ireland once had 100% Mass attendance. Europe was once the center of Christendom. Today, those Churches are in crisis. So, we began to ask: What does it really mean to say the future of the Church is in Africa? Surely, it has to be more than numbers.” The Clergy of Nigeria’s Abuja Archdiocese explained.
Fr. Amadi noted that CLA targets young Catholic undergraduates and graduates. He explained, “We want to invest in them as lay theologians, as faith ambassadors. These are people who would not just engage in superficial faith practices but deeply understand and live out the core tenets of Catholicism.”
“It’s not just the Priests or Religious that should drive the Church. We, the lay faithful, have a key part to play. Church Life Africa is helping us realize our responsibility in contributing to the Church’s growth.