Father Lambert grew up as a very poor boy on the East side of the country in the Peoples Republic of Congo. He was one of 10 children, and the early part of his life was filled with tragedy. At age four his grandmother, who was very helpful to the family, passed away. His mother attended the funeral and on her way home she was hit and killed by a car. Food, clothing and educational resources were hard to find, and his father needed help with the farm. Farming techniques were not developed, and they still aren’t developed today. Father Lambert’s family did not have money to send him to school. A priest in the village knew Father Lambert wanted to be a Priest and sponsored his education. Father Lambert received a PhD in theology at the Catholic University of Louvain (KU Leven) and another PhD in Philosophy. The second philosophy PhD was a collaboration with both the Catholic University of the Congo and the Catholic University of Louvain Ia Neuve (UCL). He then went to Canada and started his education at the Seminary to become a priest in the Catholic Church. He would have stayed in Canada, but it was just too cold.

Father Lambert joined the Archdiocese in Boston in 2015 and was assigned to several parishes over the years. When he was at Saint Mary’s Parish in Wrentham, Massachusetts he had the opportunity to start teaching Philosophy at Stonehill College in South Easton, Massachusetts. Father Lambert always sent a good portion of his earnings as a priest (which wasn’t much) home to his family in the Congo. When he started teaching Philosophy at Stonehill College his goal was to earn $25,000 so he could buy a newer car. His car was old and always breaking down and needing repair. He reached his goal in 2025 and thought to himself, would I rather spend my money on a car that will help me or would I rather spend my money helping many people in my village? He chose the latter and purchased the land and house that is now Saint Bakhita Centre.

Father Lambert decided to name his property after Saint Bakhita who is the patron saint of victims of human trafficking, slavery and survivors of abuse. Saint Josephine Bakhita was born in Sudan. She was kidnapped from her family and was forced into a slavery by Arab slave traders. If you have time to read an interesting story, please Google Saint Bakhita. She was a woman of incredible resilience. At one point during her life, she was beaten so severely she was incapacitated for a month and then sold again when she recovered. She was sold and bought so many times she forgot her birth name. One of her owners, under a traditional Sudanese practice, would cut into her skin and rub the cuts with salt and flour. This left her with 114 patterns cut into her skin. She reportedly said, “I thought I would die, especially when salt was poured in the wounds…it was by a miracle of God I didn’t die. He had destined me for better things.”  In 1883 Saint Bakhita was sold to the Michieli family in Italy. They were doing business in Sudan and placed Saint Bakhita and their daughter in the care of the Canossian Sisters at the Institute of the Catechumens in Venice in 1888. This is where she was drawn to the Roman Catholic faith and felt she had always known God was the creator of all things. Her story is so inspiring. Her mission was one of radical forgiveness, resilience and hope. She was able to transform her life of slavery into a life of service as a Canossian Sister. (www.britannica.com; https://www.google.com/search)