Joint Session of the Central Government and the Latin American Region (CIAL)
21-28 August 2023
Day 6 – Saturday, August 26
The theme of the Morning Prayer was Hope and Restructuring. Delegates from the Province of Haiti and the Mission of Colombia led the prayers for the day.
During the first session of the day, Fr. Antonio Messeri (Cruz del Sur, Uruguay) presented seven principles of restructuring, which were presented as the background against which the day’s business would be conducted. He concluded his presentation by giving an overview of the 37th General Chapter’s mandates on restructuring. After his presentation, we broke into the following groups to discuss the restructuring of initial and ongoing formation in the region: formators, formandi, CIAL leadership, and members of commissions. The treasurers of the region held an online meeting with the Treasurer General, and members of the Central Government met as a separate group.
Before midday prayer, we gathered in a plenary session to receive feedback from the different groups.In the afternoon’s first session, the delegates attempted to come to some consensus on what had been presented in the morning. There was lots of discussion, trying to clarify issues.
Five members of the Central Government then presented the report of the Central Government and responded to questions: Antoni Bochm (Vicar General) on some decisions taken by the General Council, Raymond Mwangala (First Assistant) on mission, Kapena Shimbome (General Councillor for Africa-Madagascar) on the Mission of Ghana, Asodo Henricus Istoyo (Second Assistant) on formation, and Marek Jazgier (Secretary General) on changes to the Constitutions and Rules concerning community made at the last General Chapter.
Several Oblates, associates, and friends joined us for the Mass, a festive dinner, and an evening of cultural festivities celebrating Mexican culture. Fr. Hebert Morose (Colombia) presided over the Mass and preached the homily.
