September 2017 will see the publication of Afrique, a l’ombre des dieux; Africa, in the shadow of the gods, a book about the incredible history of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit in Africa, over the last three centuries. The book showcases images and analysis of exceptional masterpieces of classic African art collected by the Congregation along with rare documents from the missionary’s archives which until now, have only been displayed in French Spiritan homes, locked away from the public.

The Congregation of the Holy Spirit, a Catholic missionary society founded in France in 1703, made Africa its main land of mission. From the 1840s, the Spiritans radiated throughout its territory, but more specifically still, its equatorial zone (present-day Gabon and Democratic Republic of the Congo). Its members live there alongside populations whose languages, customs, and rituals ​​they learn. They collect valuable information for ethnologists on the ground and collect many artefacts—everyday objects, but also ritual sculptures associated with eminently religious contexts. The Congregation thus constitutes, over time, important ensembles which will nevertheless remain largely unknown.

Patient research work carried out over several years has helped shed light on the history of the Spiritains, but also uncovered many unpublished objects, including some authentic masterpieces of African art. Accompanied by rare archival documents and analysis by the most eminent specialists in Equatorial Africa, the collections of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit are finally presented to the general public in all their diversity and richness.

Non-French speakers, you’re out of luck, the book is in French. But with over 200 images of objects, field photos, and archival documents, we can still feed our eyes. The book can be pre-ordered from Somogy Editions d’Art and a preview of the book’s first few pages is available here.

But wait, there’s more! If you’re at Parcours des Mondes in September, you can hear the book’s Director Nicolas Rolland, along with Gabonese art expert Louis Perrois, speak more about the research, analysis, and objects within the book on 14 September. See our events page for more details.