(ANS - Rome) - Just one day off - yesterday, Palm Sunday ­- and the Rector Major and his Council members are back to work today, with the first meeting of the new General Council.

This is the first ever meeting in the hall of the General Council for Fr Ángel Fernández Artime, the Rector Major, and the new Councillors Fr Ivo Coelho (Formation), Fr Americo Chaquisse (Africa and Madagascar), Fr Timothy Ploch (Inter-America), Fr Tadeusz Rozmus (Central and Northern Europe) and Fr Stefano Martoglio (Mediterranean).

This is a special session - it lasts only three days, from today until Wednesday. Its primary purpose is to get to know each other and in particular the relationship between the different offices. One of the first decisions for the Council will be the appointment of a new Superior for the Mediterranean Province of Spain - a role that had been entrusted to Fr Fernandez Artime by the previous  General Council. A new appointment is now necessary on account of the subsequent election of Fr Fernandez as Rector Major.

With this first session of the General Council the post-GC27 phase of the Salesian Congregation  begins.  

After working overtime for more than a month and a half, the Chapter members from the various part of the Salesian world have left the Generalate to return to their respective countries of origin. They bring with them an experience of fraternity lived authentically, a perception of the real world view of the Salesians, and guidelines for the final document of GC27. These must be translated into practice in all the different Salesian situations so that the Salesians will be ever more Witnesses to the Radical Approach of the Gospel.

There is a video on ANSChannel containing a summary of the last day of the Chapter with images taken during Mass, an extract from the final message of the Rector Major to the Chapter Assembly and the formal closing of GC27 by Fr Francesco Cereda as Moderator.

Published 14/04/2014