ABSTRACT
In the former Belgian Congo, the politics of conservative modernization adopted by
Belgium and Catholic missionaries until the end of the 1940s brought about a late
development of European methods which consisted of ‘perfecting’ the social, corporal,
and religious education of the educated youth. The most important, started in 1952 in
Bukavu under the name of xaveri, was borrowed directly from the European Catholic
scouting movement. From the birth of the movement, brochures (translated into several
vernacular languages) outlined the principles and methods associated with the
development of the organization in each territory concerned (Belgian Congo, Uganda,
Rwanda, Burundi). In all the missions and schools where the scheme was established, the
xaveri was made up of one or several units (the group) divided into three sections: ‘The
Joyful’ (small children from 9 to 12 years old), ‘The Ardent’ (from 13 to 16 or 17 years
old), and ‘The Radiant’ (older youths: from 16 or 17 years old until marriage).
