With our Bethlehem Mission Society, SMB for short, we are active on four continents. In our work, we aim to combine the proclamation of the message of Jesus and development cooperation.
The Bethlehem Mission Society SMB is a community of brothers and priests who, in response to God’s call, have dedicated their lives to God and their neighbours. The origins of our Society go back to the year 1895.
We feel called to cooperate in the missionary service of the Church. As a Society of Apostolic Life, we are not a religious order, but are directly subordinate to the Dicastery (Department) for Evangelisation (Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle). In the same time, we are committed to living according to the evangelical counsels of poverty, obedience and celibacy.
In our work, we aim to combine the proclamation of the message of Jesus and development cooperation.
In doing so, we are guided by the following principles.
Wherever we are, we work closely with the local church. We are active in pastoral care, teaching, training, the press – wherever we are needed and our services are in demand.
The participants of the 2023 General Chapter of the Bethlehem Mission Society.
The SMB does not tolerate any form of abuse – whether sexual, spiritual or otherwise. This is in line with our mission statement and the measures adopted by the Swiss Bishops’ Conference (SBK), the Roman Catholic Central Conference (RKZ) and the Conference of Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life in Switzerland (KOVOS), of which we are a member.
As a mission society, we strive to create a safe, respectful and supportive community in which every person has the right to physical and emotional integrity. Guided by the spirituality of Bethlehem, we recognise the dignity and worth of every human being. We are actively committed to prevention, protection and coming to terms with the past, and to combating the cover-up of abuse in all its forms.
Have you been affected by sexual or spiritual abuse by members, candidates or novices of the SMB? Our contact persons are a low-threshold first point of contact. They have no therapeutic or legal training, but will listen to you carefully and help you find the appropriate specialist services – in particular victim support services.
English speaking contact person in Zimbabwe
Sister Theresa Annah Nyadombo HLMC
Telephone: +263 771 233 995
English speaking contact persons in Switzerland
Sonja Marty
Mobile: +41 (0) 79 641 64 86
Georg l’Homme
Mobile: +41 (0) 79 303 85 59
French speaking contact persons in Switzerland
Geneviève de Simone
Telephone: +41 (0) 22 362 57 01
Danilo de Simone
Telephone: +41 (0) 22 362 57 01
As our contact persons have other duties to attend to, they will usually get back to you within one working day (24 hours). An appointment for a detailed discussion will be arranged within the following few days – and no later than one week. Thank you for your understanding.
