June 20, 2004
Feast of Mary SS. Consolata

Dear Missionaries,
On this solemn Feast of our Mother and Patroness, Mary Consolata, we feel a great joy in summoning the XTth General Chapter of the Institute. As we devotedly contemplate Her Holy Image, we sense the need to put under Her maternal protection this important event of the Institute, while, at the same time, we wish to look at her as a sublime model of consecration and missionary service.
In this letter, besides giving juridical directives on the Chapter required by our Constitutions, we wish to recall to your attention some elements which can facilitate our preparation and stir up in all of us expectations pregnant with great possibilities, so that the General Chapter will be a true visit of the Holy Spirit to out Institute.

Meaning of the General Chapter

The General Chapters which since 1969 have been held every six years, have had a fundamental and irreplaceable role to begin and to maintain alive in the Institute the process of renewal, which began with Vatican II. They have been authentic laboratories for reflections on the life and mission of the Institute, and of discernment, in the light of the Spirit, of the future which lies ahead for the Institute. The rediscovery and appropriation of the charism of Blessed Allamano, achieved through the publications of the last few decades, have also empowered those Chapters to keep the Institute on track regarding that basic inspiration, which gives impetus to the authenticity of the missionaries’ life, and certainty when they are faced with the new paths of mission.
The Constitutions explain the nature and the purpose of the General Chapter with a incisive and clear statement: “The General Chapter is the assembly of the legitimate representatives of our Congregation, who come together to examine its life and activities, and to determine aims and norms. In prayerful reflection, under the guidance of the Spirit of truth, the members of the General Chapter examine themselves in the light of the Gospel, the directives of the Church, and the charism of the Founder. In a particular moment in history they strive to discern God’s will for the Congregation, so that our missionary service may always correspond with the needs of the times” (Cost 110).
The chapter is above all an expression of community and reflection within our own Family, which begins with the preparation, reaches it apex during the celebration and goes back to the confreres who are responsible for the fulfillment of the chapter deliberation. These three moments are therefore only one event which must be lived by each of us with active participation, thus avoiding to concentrate most of the attention on the celebration of the Chapter. Each one of us should have at heart the present and the future of our Institute, and, thus, we are summoned to participate very actively , though in diverse manner and roles.
The three moments mentioned above should be accompanied with attentive reflection and constant prayer, because a lot is at stake here for all of us, like our life and our mission. Let everybody raise his heartfelt prayer to the Holy Spirit so that He may be our guide, while the intercession of our Blessed Founder and the motherly love of Mary Consolata accompany all of us.
If we wish to know God’s will for our Institute, it is necessary to keep our attention focused on a vast horizon: today’s world; the Church and her leaders; the challenges which are addressed to religious life, and the new and old issues emanating from mission.
And finally the General Chapter has the aim of electing the new General Superior and his Council. To accomplish this task the delegates and all of us must pray and discern, taking into consideration the good of the Institute, and the new demands of mission which is ahead of us. In this respect, especially at the Regional level, a good atmosphere could be provided which leaders to a serene and open dialogue, with the only objective of tuning in with the plan of God and discern His will.

The preparation

The positive experience for a good preparation of the X General Chapter convinced its delegates to propose that a similar iter be followed also in the XI Chapter. The General Direction has heeded this proposal and has structured the preparation to the Chapter with these modalities:
 It sent out a survey to all the members of the Institute asking that they suggest themes for the Chapter and the type of preparation to implement;
 The pre-Chapter commission has redacted the text of the lineamenta which was then approved by the General Direction;
 From May through September 2004, the missionaries are reflecting on the text of the Lineamenta, and are requested to send their contributions which will be utilized by the pre-Chapter Commission towards the redaction of the Instrumentum Laboris.
 The Instrumentum Laboris will be sent to the Chapter Delegates at the end of November, together with the Agenda of the Chapter.
We leave it up to the local and Regional Superiors to modalities for a thorough involvement of their members in this process, so that all the missionaries may be able to offer on time the fruits of their reflections and discernment on the Lineamenta.

The theme: “I Want you to be like this…..” – our missionary stile

The last two General Chapters have decided to concentrate their attention on one only theme, while dealing shortly with urgent issues which emerged from the discussion during the Chapters. The poll of all the members of the Institute has reiterated the same orientation for this Chapter, which should deepen one main subject, but with the freedom to deal briefly with others which the Delegates will surface because of their importance on the Institute. The greatest majority of the responses favored the theme by the title: “Our missionary style” (Ratio missionis). There was some consensus on two other themes: “interculturality of the Institute” and “basic and ongoing formation”.
Following the directions of the confreres who responded the questionnaire and with the approval of the General Direction, the Commission was able to draft the Lineamenta which describe our missionary style, as it is written in the documents of the Institute. It is the responsibility of all confreres to complement this text by adding elements which reflect the new trends, developing further those already present, and correcting those which seem obsolete. The text of the Lineamenta thus corrected by the commission, will eventually be Instrumentum Laboris haded over to the Chapter delegates who, in turn, will decide whether to accept it and transform it into the Ratio Missionis for the Institute.

Inspiration

Our first missionaries of Kenya did understand very soon that it was not sufficient to have in mind the ideal of mission, the basic ideas about spirituality, the most urgent objectives of mission. Besides all that, they also needed a working agreement on the methodology of work and a common program of life, which would make their missionary service more efficacious and their testimony of life more visible. Thus, two years after their arrival in Kenya, the missionaries, moved by the family spirit and the unity of goals, felt the need express in practical guide-lines the way to perform mission and evangelization. In March 1904 they organized the first of a series of meetings which they called “le conferenze di Moranga” (the conferences of Moranga), and which produced the so called “Mezzi e modi migliori di Apostolato” (Best means and ways of pastoral work).The Founder was very appreciative of this work and approved it with much appreciation (Quasi una vita, IV, 108), because it certainly was the fulfillment of his hidden desire.
After one hundred years, we too are invited to respond to the following questions: how can we put into practice, maintaining the unity of purpose, the directives and the practical proposals offered by the Constitutions and the last few General Chapters? What style of life and work should identify us which will allow us, wherever we are, to work in syntony?
The task ahead of us is not easy, given the internationality of our religious family, whose members are engaged in many and quite different situations of work. Nevertheless we believe that what we are planning to achieve is not an unattainable objective. The elements which we hold in common are so many and strongly felt that we can truly become “one heart and one soul”. We hold in common the same missionary vocation, a common and charismatic source from which to draw, we all follow Christ with the same religious vows and we operate with the spirit of the same Constitutions, we feel united in the one Church of Christ and eager to announce the gospel to the nations.

Date and place

With deep gratitude to the Lord, and as a sign of fraternal communion with our Family, we have the joy to convoke the XIth General Chapter for April 10, 2005, in San Paolo (Brazil). This will be the second convocation of a Chapter outside Italy. We were motivated to take such a decision by the positive experience of the last Chapter, and also by the wish of the Consolata Missionary Sisters to hold their Chapter in the same city and at the same time. This proximity offers to both Chapters the possibility of holding religious services together, and also moments of discernment and sharing on themes of common interest.
On the basis of the past experience, we think that between four to five weeks will be sufficient to transact and bring to conclusion all the chapter business. Nevertheless it should not be forgotten that the real time for the duration of the Chapter, will be determined by the Chapter itself.

Prayer

With this letter, we send you also an easy prayer subsidy, for personal and communal prayer. This was prepared together with the Consolata Missionary Sisters. We invite and exhort you to pray daily to the Holy Spirit for the good success of the Chapter. When the liturgical norms allow it, you can use the votive Mass of the Holy Spirit, or the masses proper to our Institute, especially those of January 22 and February l6.
In this prayer for the Chapter, let us try to involve those religious communities which are closer to us, and also the Christian communities which we serve, the friends and lay people who collaborate with us. We are fully aware that the General Chapter does not only interest the Institute, but it is an ecclesial event. It is the whole Church which has to be somehow involved in this event, because she herself is missionary, our charism is for its benefit, we are animated by the same apostolic objective, which is the Kingdom of God in the world.

Conclusion

The General Direction, helped by the pre-chapter commission, will try to accompany in the best possible way the preparation to the XIth General Chapter, being aware that its efficacy will be measured by the commitment and interest shown by each missionary, each local and regional community . We also invite all the confreres to cooperate with the Consolata Missionary Sisters with all the initiatives of pray and reflection, which can ameliorate our preparation, and make it more efficacious the works of our General Chapters. In this way we will write a meaningful page of unity and communion, in full syntony with that spirit which Blessed Allamano so much desired for all of us.
We greet you with affection in the Consolata,

Fr. Piero Trabucco, IMC
(Superior General)
Fr. Antonio Bellagamba, IMC
(Vice Superior General)
Fr. Norberto Ribeiro Louro, IMC
(General Councilor)
Fr. Aquiléo Fiorentini, IMC
(General Councilor)
Fr. Jean André Benedetti, IMC
(General Councilor)