This paper examines how African missionaries cope with the lack of family in mission countries. New families take an interest in these expatriate priests and help them integrate. With 55 interviews with priests and 30 with families, we show the existence of a need among priests and a strategy of taming by families. This study demonstrates the need for a new type of support in the context of expatriation. Faced with both cultural and professional difficulties, expatriates turn to extra-professional support. Creating a new relationship with the families available to open the doors of their homes and integrate them into the family, these priests quickly find their fulfillment in a foreign land, and this facilitates their socialization. Their professional performance also improves. This article makes several contributions. Firstly, the expatriate’s management of the lack of family support. Secondly, the ability to adapt to the new type of support provided by host families. Finally, we shed light on the little-studied situation of the diversity of local attitudes towards the presence of African expatriates in Western countries.
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