I was recently blessed to represent the Catholic Military Association at the Annual Conference of the Apostolat Militaire International (AMI) in the beautiful surroundings of Mombasa in Kenya.
The AMI is best described as an umbrella organisation, commissioned by the Holy See to represent, encourage and strengthen lay Catholic military personnel in the Armed Forces of many nations around the world. The CMA has been the UK representative to this organisation since 2022 and I have now been honoured to represent the CMA twice. The AMI conference brings together soldiers, sailors and airman from nations across the globe, from Belgium to South Africa and from Slovakia to the Philippines, all united in wanting to serve Christ and promote the cause of his Holy Church in the military setting.
Many issues were discussed during the 2024 conference, but the overarching theme this year was the impact of military service on the families of service personnel. This topic was ably illustrated throughout the week by numerous high profile guest speakers, from the Kenya National Security Advisor, to the Archbishop of Mombasa. Learning about how much provision is made by the Kenya Armed Forces for service personnel and their families not only during their service but afterwards was particularly fascinating, and there are many lessons the UK could learn from what is in many ways a superior system.
This year's conference was outstandingly hosted throughout by the incredibly welcoming service men and women of the Kenyan Armed Forces, who ensured the experience was truly moving for all who attended. In addition to handling all the logistical details of the conference itself, they also facilitated numerous cultural and religious events in the local area for all the delegates. This, coupled with their exceptional hospitality at all times, set Kenya 2024 as the standard for all future AMI conferences.
AMI Annual Conference 2025 is set to be held in Manilla, in the Philippines. Having seen how much energy the Filipinos put into sending a respectable sized delegation half way around the world on two occasions now, I have no doubt they will give the Kenyan's a run for their money in laying on a moving conference next year.
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