The general council has returned to Rome.

 The members of the general council are currently in Rome after having made the canonical visits of three provinces. In each province the visits consisted primarily in meetings with the provincial council, two meetings with each local community, interviews with each Brother, and fraternal visits to different works of the province.

 Brothers Jose Ignacio Carmona, Gaston Lavoie and Charles Biagui arrived in Rome May 21 after their two-month visit to the province of Canada. They participated in the province chapter and animated six regional gatherings of Brothers. A special dimension of the province is its inauguration of new social, educational or pastoral work with lay partners. Their report of the visit was given to the current provincial in council as well as to the members of the council-designate who will begin their mandate on  July 1^st.

 Brothers Paul Montero and Denis Plourde returned May 26 from their visit to the province of New England.  Prior to that they had made the canonical visitation of the province of Colombia from March 14 to April 20. 

 In Colombia they also visited the high school formation center.  During the visits to the province’s seven schools, they met with groups of students to listen to their concerns and to encourage them in their future endeavors.  The schools accept many students who are not able to pay regular tuition.  The province also sponsors works devoted to underprivileged young people. Our Brothers in Colombia are fully dedicated to the schools, and the goodly number of young Brothers offer hope for a bright future.

 In New England Brothers Paul and Denis also toured Mt. St. Charles Academy and Bishop Guertin High School where they met with the administrative teams, and they visited several ministry sites involving Brothers not directly engaged in the schools.  Although the Brothers of the province of New England are aging and diminishing in number, they are committed with much energy and dedication to their various ministries and are facing their future with a positive attitude. In February Brother Paul had visited our Brothers at St. Columba’s in St. Alban’s, England, which is a school and local community of the province of New England. 

 These regular visits allow the members of the general council to know better the life and ministry of their confreres and to appreciate what each Brother is currently doing.  The visits also permit the general council to deepen among the Brothers the ordinance of the general chapter of 2006: A pilgrimage of hope along the road of communion.

may, 28, 2008