DU alumnus promoted in Spiritan order

Courtesy of Duquesne University

Editorial Staff

Oct. 21, 2021

Duquesne University announced on Monday that alumnus the Rev. Alain Mayama was elected Superior General of Spiritan Congregation.

The Spiritans founded Duquesne in 1878.

According to a news release, the Superior General is the highest position of authority that leads the Spiritan Congregation, along with his council. He is the first African Spiritan to hold the position. 

Mayama earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Duquesne in 2007. He served as chaplain of a hospital in Port Huron, Michigan, before completing four years of mission work prior to joining the General Council in Rome in 2012. 

In a news release, university President Ken Gormley said that Mayama is “a wonderful choice and example of service to lead the Spiritans globally.” 

“Fr. Mayama is a wonderful choice and example of service to lead the Spiritans globally,” Gormley said in the release. “We certainly are delighted that a Duquesne alumnus is the leader of the congregation that founded and animates our university today. We are equally proud of the record of service and leadership that Fr. Mayama has built. Fr. Jim McCloskey and I had the privilege of meeting with him when we visited Rome a few years ago, and his wisdom and humility will serve the congregation well.”