Praise and glory to God who has granted us grace to celebrate the XVII Chapter of the Province held in the provincial house in Centocelle, Rome, from 17 to 23 August, in this time when uncertainty sometimes presses and does not allow displacement and meetings, even community.
God has summoned us to this Chapter, he has gathered us together in this difficult period of pandemic. He who invites us to share in His desire for life and novelty for our Religious Family, for our Province, has allowed us to live a time of grace.
The Father sent Jesus, His Son, who grafts us into Him as the branch in the vine, so that we can bear fruits of life and love. He, the vine and we the branches. Jesus, united with us in love and in the gift of life to save humanity, is our source of life and hope in every age.
The meeting began on August 17 with the recollection day of the capitulars and the reflection on the theme: "Remain in my love", offered by Sr. Enza Carini, a Combonian sister. In prayer, the Chapter sisters were invited to take their place in communion with the Trinity and to feel part of it. This day spent in the presence of the Lord and in deep communion with Him, gave them a strong spiritual experience that strengthened the presence on the Spirit in them. The capitulars were very happy with the meditation that made them feel the presence of the Lord who invited them to remain in His great love, like the branches united to the vine.
After days of intense work, on 21 August the important moment of the election of the new Council of the Province took place. The Chapter elected Sr. Marta Camerotto Provincial Superior, assisted by four Councillors who will work with her for the next three years: Sr. Lilibeth Labian, Vicar and First Councillor; Sr. Cristiana Basso, Second Councillor; Sr. Cristina Bottan, Third Councillor and Sr. Federica Imperatore, fourth Councillor.
All the sisters of the Province and of our entire religious Family of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Sacred Heart have expressed their affectionate good wishes by promising prayers for the new Council. In the community of Centocelle, at the announcement of the new council, the Sisters gathered in small gym to celebrate the joy of fraternity and all expressed their joy and greetings to the new elected.
Then continued the chapter work on the Instrument that will trace the new paths for the three years of the new mandate.
At the end of the Chapter, Sr. Paola Dotto, Superior General left a significant mark for the 160th anniversary of the foundation of the Congregation, a gift received from our sisters in the Mother House, in Gemona: small pictures with the painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help so dear to us and Saint Joseph. They are the copy of the painting that is in the chapel of the Mother House, which all the older sisters who had the formation in the Mother House remembered with affection.
After this moment, so simple but so fraternal and rich in a sense of Family, the liturgical commission offered the prayer of thanksgiving and praise to God, the giver of all good, and this is how our Chapter ended.
The love of Christ, which is the foundation of our living together and attests to the identity of being with Him, unites us and makes us witness to our being a gift for one another in faith. Strong in faith and hope, founded on this great Love which God has poured out upon us and which renews us in His will through our personal, community, provincial and congregational history, united to the whole Church of God, to the Lord who guided us at the end of this fraternal encounter with his grace and love, let us give our praise and gratitude.
We are united to Christ, our light on the way, the true vine to which to remain united to bear fruit, because without Him we can do nothing. He knows us and has chosen us so that we can walk together with Him: to Him we entrust all our resolutions and thank Him!
To praise and glory of His name!
