News Archive
General chapter in Rome
We as Marists hold a General Chapter every seven years. Elected delegates come to Chapter carrying in their hearts the needs and concerns of our Congregation and the world. As they listen to the Spirit of God and to one another,
- a way forward unfolds and concrete steps are agreed on to inspire us anew in our individual and congregational mission for the coming seven years.
- A new team of Congregational leaders is elected.
Our new team members
From left to right:
Sr Rita Raikuna (Fiji)
Sr Maryanne Harford (General Bursar)
Sr Jane Frances O Carroll (New Zealand) 13th Superior General
Sr Miriam Mc Manus (Ireland)
Sr Bridget Brady (Venezuela)
We congratulate our new leadership team as they set out in faith to lead us into the future. They will take up their new mandate on August 29, which is the date of birth of our foundress, Jeanne Marie Chavoin.
Jeanne Marie Chavoin, Foundress
FOLLOW UP FROM GENERAL CHAPTER
Our General Chapter delegates who gathered in Rome during the
month of June identified four major needs of our time, namely;
- The Thirst for Meaning
- The Movement of Peoples
- Reconciliation
- Care of the Earth
Our response to these needs will be a priority in our mission focus over the next 7 years. As individuals and communities, we are invited to share the riches of our faith, our spirituality and our charism with those who find life meaningless; with exiles and migrants who are thirsting for a sense of belonging; with the wounded and hurting people in our society who are in need of reconciliation; and with the earth itself which is also in need of healing.
On September 13, our three delegates, Sisters Brigid Mary,
Bernadette and Miriam, who represented the sector of Ireland at the General
Chapter, outlined for us some clear directives about the way forward with
these mission priorities. The Longford Arms Hotel where East meets West
(and North too!) was the venue for our gathering. Our day began with a
very inspiring prayer entitled “New Wine for our Thirsting World”, led
by Sr. Romana. We prayed that God’s Spirit which gathered us together
would give us the grace to focus our efforts on our Marist mission and
the tasks which lie before us.
We heard from our delegates about other chapter deliberations
which are the supports for our commitment to the 4 major needs mentioned
above. We heard about the call:
- To deepen our understanding of good stewardship.
- The responsibility for vocation promotion so that many others may experience the transformative power of our Marist charism.
- And the values in our new governance structure which promote leadership described as ‘courageous’, ‘servant’ and ‘pilgrim’.
Enjoying a Break
We left Longford with individual packs of chapter documents which we will use for personal and community prayer and sharing – a process which we hope will prepare our hearts to take up the challenge of our mission focus. We do this in solidarity with the other members of our international congregation. The process calls each of us to personal conversion. May our hearts be ever changing, ever in growth as we allow ourselves to be agents of God’s transformative power in our world.
