(Sorocaba, Brazil) The members of the General Commission for Brothers gathered in Sorocaba, Brazil for the fifth meeting of the Commission from Monday 25th November to Friday 29th, 2019. The prime task of the Commission was to prepare a document outlining the situation of Brothers in the Congregation, to make recommendations and propose concrete projects and programs that may be introduced in the Congregation to remedy the critical situation of the gradual disappearance of Brothers in the Congregation. A document was prepared and presented at each of the five Redemptorist Conferences at the mid-sexennium meetings. At this meeting, the Commission is reviewing the responses to the document with a view of making the necessary additions and subtractions and consequently to present to the General Council for its consideration as a working document for use in the Congregation.
The meeting is being held at St. Gerard Seminary, a house of formation in the Redemptorist Province of São Paulo, dedicated to the specific formation for men pursuing the vocation to become Redemptorist Brothers. There are currently six men in the program varying in age from 18 to 40. It is a joy for us as members of the Commission to witness the actual functioning of a house dedicated to the specific formation for Brothers. We took the opportunity to share with the men in the formation, some of our mission stories and to listen to their expectations of the journey ahead.
We are very grateful for the exceptional hospitality of the professed and postulant community here at St. Gerard Seminary. It is truly a joy to be welcomed and treated as Brothers among Brothers.
Br. Jeffrey Rolle, C.Ss.R.
