The General Council has had its annual meeting with the 5 Coordinators of the 5 Conferences in the Congregation of Europe, South America, North America, Asia Oceania and Africa and Madagascar in Rome. The first week was spent in sharing about the mission in each of the Conferences with reports from each of the Coordinators about the situation and the Action Plan as carried out in each of the Conferences. There were presentations on the work of each of the Secretariats and Commissions of the General Government.
The meeting also took up suggestions for preparation for the mid-sexennial meetings later this year, discussions on the work done by the General Council regarding the implementation of the General Chapter Decisions and planning for the years ahead. An important moment in this meeting was the sharing on Friday 24th January with the Provincials of the 4 Units in North-West Europe (Vienna Munich, St. Clements, London, and Dublin) as they move forward to being a Federation this year.
The General Council continued its meeting with the Conference Coordinators into the next week and concluded its meeting on the 28th of January 2025. The Second week of meetings considered the finalisation of the program for the mid-sexennial meetings, representation at the next General Chapter, proposals for the fund as well as Networking for and with the Conference of Africa and Madagascar, networking across Conferences with suggestions from the Conference Coordinators, suggestions regarding the editing of the Pastoral Guide for Superiors and the Directory for Shared Mission, plans for preparation for the 300 years jubilee celebrations of the founding of the Congregation, the plan for Fraternal Visitations in the Units of the Congregation with the assistance of the Conference Coordinators and finally feedback from the Conference Coordinators for the General Council.
The General Council will continue to meet with the Conference Coordinators over the year through online meetings. The final day 29th January the General Council met for the entire day for its own Consulta taking up a variety of matters as planned in the agenda for the meeting. The General Council now invites the entire Congregation to the online meeting to celebrate the day for Consecrated Life on the 31st of January 2025 at 2 pm Italian Time.
Fr. Joseph Ivel Mendanha, C.Ss.R.
General Consultor