LISTENING TO THE REALITY OF OUR INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE

Holy Sacred Spirit

Breathe your breath on us...

 

 

 

 

 

The calm, and calming, repetition of this mantra and the reading of Romans 8, 26 - 27 prepared hearts and minds for the work of this day.

 

 

 

 

 
 

The foundations of trust and mutual knowing having been laid the previous day, through formal and informal conversations, the Capitulants were ready to:

·         elect the Steering Committee

·         listen and react to the Report of the General Leadership Team and that of the Vicariate Council.

 

Election of the Steering Committee

This Committee is composed of the President of the Chapter (Margaret Muldoon) who presides, and five members (4 Apostolic sisters and 1 Contemplative sister) who were elected, one by one, on the basis of a majority vote. The Chapter Facilitator attends the meetings.

The Steering Committee Members

 

Eithne HUGHES, Margaret MULDOON, Gemma CORBETT,

Mª Dolores SANZBERRO, Adela VANACLOCHA and Shanthi SIMON 

 

General Leadership Team and Vicariate Council Reports

(As these reports were circulated to the entire Institute some time before the Chapter, their content will not be repeated here.)

Margaret and Councillors, together, took the assembly through their Report.
 

Bernadette Taurinya, Vicar for the Contemplatives, did likewise for that of the Vicariate.

 

After each report the Capitulants were given time to reflect in silence on what they had heard and asked to write down  any questions they wished to put to the teams for the afternoon session.
 

 

 

 

 

 

Eucharistic celebrations at the Chapter are presided over by Priest friends or Priest Associates of the Holy Family. Fr. Fabio Ciardi, OMI joined us at 12.15 for the Eucharist.

 

 

 

 

 

Afternoon Session

Questions on the two Reports given in the morning session had been collated and were dealt with by the General Leader, Vicar for the Contemplatives and the Councillors within whose portfolio they fell.

Questions, and also comments, dealt with such issues as Formation, Associates (Lay and Priests), Animation, Missionary dynamism, Leadership, Structures...

A number of them simply required elaboration and clarification from the Report itself.

Many raised issues that would need to be taken up in the mandate of the new Leadership Team of the Religious Institute and the Vicariate Council.

 

Foremost in the minds of all was the need for a mindset with regard to change. The following quote from the General Council Report is more than relevant:

“The next ten years are going to be years of change. What has worked up to now will not serve our purpose into the future. Therefore emphasis must be place on leadership that can deal with change management.”

 

Financial Report

 

Time did not permit Marian Murcia, the General Bursar to give her full report so we will give some soundbites from her input tomorrow.

 

Finally, the day’s work was brought to an end when Gemma Corbett, on behalf of and in the name of all present, said a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to the Leaders of the Institute:

 

“Before we end the work of today,” she said, “it is my privilege to say thank you to you, dear sisters, on behalf of us all. ‘Thank you’! two small words which don’t adequately express the depth of gratitude we feel for all that you are and all that you have given us over these past years. All that you are – Sisters in every sense of the word, loving, accepting, approachable, supportive.  All that you have given us, a real example of evangelical leadership. You have been an inspiration to us by your commitment, generosity, self-giving, and downright hard work."
 

"Thank you a thousand times!”

 

 

Her words were loudly affirmed by the Capitulants who gave our outgoing leaders a standing ovation.