Daniel Comboni
Comboni Missionaries
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Preparatory week to the XVIII General Chapter
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Seventy-seven representatives of the Comboni Missionaries, from twenty nationalities, started yesterday (31 August) the week of preparation for the XVIII General Chapter of the Institute. Every six years, the Chapter brings together delegates from all the provinces where the missionaries are engaged. This is an opportunity to evaluate the progress made and interpret the signs of the times in the Church and in the world, to respond to it with the hope of the Gospel and to share it with the poor, who are the privileged companions of our mission. The inspirational theme of the Chapter is: “Comboni missionary disciples, called to live the joy of the Gospel in today’s world.”
The preparatory week to the Chapter is an opportunity for the delegates to know one another, to deepen the inspirational theme in prayer, to study and begin to discern the basic elements on which to work during the Chapter that will officially open on Sunday, September 6, with Mass of 9.00 (broadcast live - streaming live - on this site).
The Chapter will continue until 4 October. The delegates will meet Pope Francis on the first day of October, the month dedicated to the mission. The Chapter will also provide the opportunity to revive the Comboni commitment that will be made by the new general administration of the Institute, that is, the new General Council, which will be elected during the Chapter on 29 and 30 September.
In these first days of the preparatory week, the reflection of the Capitular members will have as their starting point the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, with the contribution of Mgr. Semeraro, bishop of Albano and secretary of the team of cardinals that Pope Francis has chosen as his advisers, in rethinking the structure and the service of the Church today.
Let us accompany the Chapter with our prayer, asking the Spirit of Jesus of Nazareth to grant us inspiration and light, for the mission and the life of the world.