After
having listened to the four conferences of experts on the theme of the
General Chapter and the organization of the Chapter bodies, we have
dedicated some days to getting to know the state of our Congregation.
The
respective Provincial and Regional Superiors illustrated to all the
Chapter Delegates the complex reality of the ten Provinces and of the
eight Regions. Aside from the written texts, some speakers made use of
multi-media products that stimulated the attention of the audience. Last
to speak was the Superior General, Fr. Pietro Campus, reading before the
Chapter Delegates the report that the General Government has drafted,
thanks to the experience of six years of responsibility over the entire
Congregation. The Superior General’s report, appreciated by the
Assembly, has been supplemented by two other interventions: one of the
Postulator General of the Pauline Family and the other by the Bursar
General. Every exposition was further expounded in the dialogue with the
Chapter Assembly.
With
the reports over, the Chapter Delegates had the opportunity of an entire
afternoon for a personal reflection so that, with the help of the Spirit
and the available documentation, they could identify the current needs
of the Congregation. The fruit of the personal study shall then be
completed by the work of study groups and by the presentation at the
Chapter hall.
In
order to further deepen the knowledge of the state of the whole
Congregation and in order to begin hypothesizing a plan that could
translate the Chapter theme, “To be St. Paul alive today. A
Congregation that strains forward”`, the Chapter Delegates have
available to them the interpretative reading of the results of the
questionnaire made in view of the Chapter, the Instrumentum laboris
prepared up by the Preparatory Commission and the Acts of the 7th
General Chapter.
The
Chapter is committed to orient the Congregation towards the future,
while integrating the past and studying with frankness the state of the
present. The personal meditation, the work of the study groups and the
assembly meetings are held in an atmosphere of prayer, of attentive
listening and of the will to plan.
In
order that the Spirit may continue to enlighten the Chapter which longs
to seek God’s plan for us today, we once more solicit your prayer
which, in your many messages, you have assured us.
