Sister Kathleen Conan RSCJ has formally convoked the 2016 General Chapter which will take place from 7th July to 10th August 2016 at Centro Ad Gentes in Nemi, Italy.
In her letter to the provinces and communities, she highlights the significance of a general chapter:
A general chapter is a significant moment in the life of the Society as we discern the ways we are asked to respond to God’s calls at this moment in our history.
A chapter is a journey in faith. In the preparation, during the meeting itself, and in the living of its orientations, it is a paschal process, a renewing event for the congregation. It is a time to celebrate what God has been doing among us, and a time to embrace the calls of the present and the future.
The theme discerned by the General Council for the General Chapter of 2016 is:
Life unfolding … Mission for the emerging future
Desplegar la vida … Misión para el futuro que brota
Déployer la vie … Mission pour l’avenir en train de naître
Each sister, each community, and each province, district and area is called "to reflect with others on the movement of the Spirit in the life that is unfolding among us, around us and beyond us... in order [for us] to discern the ways God is calling us now to live our mission for the emerging future."
This journey of shaping the future of our life and mission is a responsibility that asks of each and all of us prayer, reflection, dialogue and commitment, all lived in a spirit of discernment.
We hope that "our desire to be women of our times, captivated by the love of Christ, in the context of our current realities and open to the calls of the world, [would] sustain us as we live this journey together, strengthening one another in prayer."
May the Spirit that led Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat to see the needs of her times accompany us as we discover and discern the directions and decisions to take so that we may continue to live the mission of God’s love today and into the emerging future.
Section: