Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - The 15th general chapter of the Xaverian Missions ended on 19 July (see Fides 13/3/2007 and 12/7/2007). For a month 47 missionaries from 20 countries prayed, reflected and made decisions. In a report to Fides, with the title Newness in continuity F. Rino Benzoni, re-elected Superior general takes stock of the chapter and future prospects. Here are some excerpts of the report.
“First of all a Chapter must be familiar with the situation, We listened to reports for the countries where we are present and we asked many questions. Then the out-going directors gave a report on the past six years of activity. On this basis the chapter members defined guidelines for the next six years. Difficult to summarise all, here are some .
1. The missionary. Awareness that the only true mission is Jesus Christ and that the more we are united with him in our motivations and our concrete decisions the more we are missionaries. Jesus is also the only Good News we can offer the world, in the variety of missionary activities. This enables us to better understand why Bishop Conforti wanted us to be totally consecrated to mission so that Jesus and the Spirit may work in us.
2. Elderly and young. The Chapter noted that we are ageing (even missionaries grow old unless they die while they are young), but it also noted the presence of new young members all over the world who are joining the mission of the Xaverian family. So the congregation must care for the elderly to enable them to be missionaries until the last breath even in sickness and inactivity. In fact more than doing, mission is “heart and life”; so a missionary is always a missionary even in sickness. On the other hand the Congregation must welcome and integrate in the one mission, young confreres from 13 different countries: Asians, Africans, Americans and Europeans. A challenge not without difficulties, but enriching for the Xaverian family.
3. Mission together. The Chapter also agreed that no one must be a 'lone rider'. Building alone may seem the best and easiest way, but in actual fact it is the most sterile and dangerous. To join forces is one of the Congregations main tasks, precisely because individualism is always a temptation also for missionaries.
4. Formation of young members. The Chapter discussed formation of our young members whom the Lord entrusts to us. We agreed that not only formators form the young, we all do and we do so more by what we are and do, than by what we say and teach. So the Chapter called all Xaverians to be faithful to their vocation and consistent in their way of life, certain that this is the best way to obtain vocations from the Lord and form them for Him.
Fr. Benzoni concluded by saying that the Chapter was an experience of communion and brotherhood: “Before all that was said and decided, the Chapter was a time of special grace, a wonderful experience of communion with brothers of different ages and origin, as well as communion with God. The most beautiful moment was undoubtedly the morning Mass, when we listened to the Word of God and shared the Body of Christ, we prayed for our confreres living and dead, country by country, we commemorated the Xaverian martyrs and all martyrs and carried in our prayers the joys and hopes of the peoples in our missions”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 20/7/2007; Righe 47; Parole 695)
