(ANS – Madrid) – On 1-2 September the Provincial Delegates for Formation in the West Europe Region met at the Don Bosco House in Madrid for the annual reunion of the Regional Formation Commission (CRF).

Present were all the Delegates of the 8 Provinces in the Region  (6 from Spain, one from Portugal and one from France-Southern Belgium), accompanied by Fr Horacio López, from the Department for Formation Team and by the Regional Councillor  Fr José Miguel Núñez. In the context of the meeting Fr Núñez also spoke to the Delegates from Spain in connection with the process of unification of the Provinces.

The main items on the agenda were initial and ongoing formation in the Region and the process of the unification of the Provinces of Spain in relation to the houses of  formation. In addition to these some material produced by the Formation Department applicable to the whole Congregation was presented.

The Delegates examined an analysis of the statistics of the Congregation, especially with regard to  the  number of novices and neo-professed and those leaving the Congregation. They looked at the activities proposed for 2011 and the tasks indicated during a meeting of the Regional Coordinators of Formation held in Quito, Ecuador, last February. They also considered the presentation, assessment and proposals for intellectual formation at the different stages of formation; the first steps in the drawing up of Criteria and Norms for Salesian Accompaniment, a document to follow up what the Ratio says on the subject; and issues connected with affective formation and formation to chastity starting from the guidelines offered by the Councillor for  Formation, Fr Francesco Cereda, in the Acts of the General Council No 410 (AGC 410).

After considering the issues relevant to all the Regions  those  specific to the West Europe Region were examined  such as the meeting for those in practical training and those in the period of the quinquennium and the preparation for perpetual profession.

A significant aspect of the meeting was the sharing of the various proposals for the period of preparation for the Bicentenary of the birth of Don Bosco.

Published 07/09/2011