(ANS – Nitra) – Between 3 and 5 November at the Retreat House of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Most Sacred Heart in Nitra, Slovakia, there was a meeting of the Formation Delegates for the North Europe Region. Attending the meeting which was prepared and led by Fr Chrys Saldanha, a member of the Formation Department, were the Delegates from Belgium, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.

Among the many topics dealt with were: the statistics of the formation houses in the Region, vocational fidelity, the aspirantate, the situation of the centres of study, missionary formation, formation during the quinquennium and spiritual accompaniment.

In addition some sessions were dedicated to the formation of Salesians in the mass media, thanks to the contribution of Fr Julian Fox, from the Social Communication Department; and others to formation in working with lay people, with input by  Fr Carlo Loots SDB and Mr Colette Schaumont, from Belgium, who shared their considerable experience in offering formation to teachers and lay personnel in schools in the North Belgium Province.

The next meeting for those responsible for formation will be at Barcelona between 9 and 11 May 2012, in the context of a general European Assembly for Formation Delegates.

Published 10/11/2011