Feast of Blessed Joseph Allamano

"Something which has existed since the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have watched and touched with our own hands, the Word of life … we are declaring to you" (1 John 1, 1-3).

Dearest Brothers in the Roraima Region,

We are opening this letter of observations from the canonical visitation of your Region (December 13, 2001 - January 6, 2002) with the forceful, incisive words of the first letter of John. The liturgy had us read these words a few days before Christmas - almost, as it were, to synthesize in a few verses the genuine spirit with which a believer must approach the Word Incarnate and make it a reality in his own life. It is a missionary spirit - charged with the impulse to evangelize. Every genuine evangelization finds its authentic motivation in these verses.
- The Word Incarnate, received, contemplated and lived must be proclaimed to others because the Word unshared loses its impact and efficacy in the life of the believer. We cannot proclaim the word to others unless it has taken root in our own personal lives.
- Evangelization does not simply mean instructing, catechizing or proclaiming principles. It means sharing with others the personal experience of God, who has come to us through His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, and who has involved us in this adventure of universal salvation.
- In this Johannine spirit, our founder, Joseph Allamano, urges us to grow in missionary dynamism and apostolic zeal through a constant striving for holiness in our lives. These words "seeing," "hearing," and "touching" represent a full and total commitment to discipleship; a radical conversion that creates in us the new man.
- The author uses the plural (we) throughout this passage. No apostolic experience is ever an individual or isolated event. It is always and essentially ecclesial. Either we are in harmony with the Church, in communion with the brothers of our Family, in solidarity with those we serve as missionaries or we run the risk St. Paul feared of "beating the air" or "running in vain." More than ever Mission today must be marked by the spirituality of communion.
How beautiful it would be if our effort to renew our missionary work in Roraima took as its own the program outlined by the Apostle John!

SIXTH REGIONAL CONFERENCE

The canonical visitation took place not long after the Sixth Regional Conference, celebrated in May 2000. This conference was undoubtedly a milestone in the history of your Region. It was carefully preceded by a long process that involved all the missionaries; it considered the principal areas of your life in the light of Chapter guidelines and issued up-to-date, courageous and detailed directives. Interpretation of the world in which you work and the recommendations of the Chapter were the framework of those guidelines that guaranteed an effective renewal of individual missionaries and communities. That in-depth interpretation of your world in its cultural, political, socio-economic, religious, missiological, ecclesial and Institute aspects makes it unnecessary for us to describe it in the context of our visitation.
Sometimes significant events in our lives are forgotten if we do not call them to mind often, reflect on them diligently and force ourselves to analyze impact on our daily lives. This could be the fate of the Regional Conference and this is what the General Government meant when it approved the Acts and said: "We hope that the Regional Government will assist the journey of our confrères with a detailed and complete yearly project that contains specific working proposals - especially in those areas where the Conference Acts provide only general guidelines" (Acts, p. 5).
At the end of this visitation we reaffirm that same hope. Moreover we would propose a special assembly the next time the Regional Government is renewed to examine the Acts of the Conference and draw up concrete programs for the next three years. It would be a shame if those parts of the document which the Region prepared so carefully were to fall into disuse through neglect or inattention.
The Acts of the Conference make it possible to omit certain specific topics that usually appear in reports of canonical visitations. We would rather concentrate on certain aspects that emerged with particular insistence in the regional assembly and in our conversations with the missionaries. These pages will be something like an echo of the Sixth Regional Conference two years later.

1. Missionary Personnel

In recent years there has been a massive change in the personnel of the Region. In the past, offering missionaries of the Region the chance to change circumscription or work to avoid stagnation after long years of missionary activity in a confined area, was asked always with a certain insistence. The General Chapter, then, specifically asked all missionaries to be ready for transfer after nine years in a given assignment (Cf. Tenth General Chapter [XCG], 27). This transfer policy has been in force in the Roraima Region for a few years and thanks to the cooperative spirit of our confrères it has proceeded serenely and successfully. This must continue and become the normal practice. Undoubtedly a transfer, after many years spent working in the same region with people we know and like can constitute a sacrifice for missionaries. Nonetheless the benefits that accrue to individual missionaries, to the Region and the missions in general are ample compensation for the personal sacrifice and the efforts of the circumscriptions to make it happen.
The first and most apparent result of this practice is the introduction of so many new missionaries into the Region. They bring enthusiasm, a willingness to work and new ideas - which do not always fit in with past decisions. To these new arrivals we would say: Don't come into yhe Region with prefabricated plans - they won't help. Rather spend a lot of time in dialogue, in looking and asking questions. In this area too history can be an excellent teacher of life. Don't be too quick to judge: take into account how much it cost our confrères in sweat and blood to achieve what they did in the past. Become gradually involved in the work of the region - don't stand at the window looking in. Your concrete commitment, side by side, with those of our brothers who have worked long and hard in the Region will be the most effective way of learning "with wisdom" and of becoming gradually and effectively engaged in the Region's program.
And to the veteran missionaries: Welcome joyfully those younger confrères who have come to give you a hand. They are a blessing from God for the future of the mission; they will assure the continuation of the work you launched with so much effort. Don't be too quick to point out their shortcomings - you could embarrass them and undermine their enthusiasm. Rather be generous in talking to them; let them learn from their own experience what might be done differently or better. Encourage them to try and don't lose patience if they criticize an achievement that cost you great effort. Apply John the Baptist's saying about Jesus to them: "He must increase and I must decrease."
We entrust the young missionaries to the Regional Superior in a special way - this is the most delicate aspect of his work. Be close to them, engage in frequent dialogue and organize a program of formation meetings with them. Don't neglect anything that might help them fit into the life of the Region and the apostolate.

2. Foster a spirituality of communion!

For decades missionary work in the diocese of Roraima was characterized by the massive - at times exclusive - presence of male and female Consolata religious. While on the one hand the lack of diocesan clergy or pastoral staff made it easier to work together, on the other hand it impoverished the ecclesial element of that work.
In recent years there has been a notable change - new pastoral workers from various backgrounds have appeared to the great benefit of the Church of Roraima. Also the Region's decision to create a second center of activity in Manaus will reduce the burden of our presence in Roraima and will certainly facilitate the integration of new pastoral workers into the Diocese. All of this can have repercussions in our attitude and in our work. Let me mention a few:
- The IMC community will no longer determine the pastoral programs of the diocese. These will now be formulated by the Bishop in communion with all the groups active in the diocese.
- With this new situation in the diocese our usual style of missionary work may have experienced a crisis. It would appear that the discomfort some of our missionaries feel and that came out explicitly during the visitation is diminishing: this is a sign of maturity and of a growing ecclesial sensitivity.
- This new situation should not dampen or undermine our apostolic and missionary dynamism. We must continue to be proactive, ready to work with everyone and pleased when new pastoral guidelines emerge reflecting the contributions and collaboration of everybody.
- We must remember our Founder's passion for the Church and the attitude he demands of us. His teaching was: do nothing without the Church! We would echo this sentiment: better slower progress achieved in communion than the lightning campaigns of individual missionaries working on their own. We must show ourselves to be the sons of Allamano in our love for the Church, our love for the local Church in its Pastor and our sincere collaboration in every diocesan project. If the Church gains, the Institute and the missionary spirit of its members gain as well.
- - We must foster in ourselves and around us a "spirituality of communion;" in his Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte, Pope John Paul II asks this repeatedly of the whole Church. Let us engage in dialogue with everyone, make our apostolic projects fit in with diocesan programs and cooperate with diocesan pastoral guidelines.

3. Local communities

During the visitation we noted with pleasure that the directives of the Tenth General Chapter on the composition of communities were taken seriously. A majority of the communities now have three members. This makes it easier to implement those directives the Institute has been issuing for some time now. We ask that:
- every community adopt a common program to be drawn up yearly by all the members of the community in the presence of the Regional Superior or a member of his council;
- the community is the ideal place for personal growth; special attention must be devoted to permanent formation, community prayer, rest, weekly community meetings; during community meetings the texts the Institute has provided for reflection should be studied;
- every community should work with pastoral workers to draw up a program to guide and promote their apostolic work; it should be an effective instrument for communion and a guarantee of continuity. It would be a good idea to inform other communities in the Region of this plan during regional assemblies.
For these reasons we recommend greater stability in the personnel of local communities. This makes a missionary's work with his own people easier and helps him better understand his milieu by sharing the joys and sufferings, hopes and struggles of those to whom he has been sent. There are frequent complaints about prolonged absences from the community - not always due to formation courses or diocesan meetings. One antidote to these prolonged absences would be the regularly scheduled annual vacations (not to exceed twenty days) provided for in our documents.
The community of the Calungá Regional House deserves a word apart. It is making an effort to offer hospitality and make those who for whatever reason ask to stay, feel at home. Missionaries should follow the community schedule and plan their stay with the local superior giving ample notice of their arrival and departure.
Finally we noted with pleasure the progress collaboration with the Consolata Sisters is making in the Surumú and Catrimani communities. Besides meeting the needs of the apostolate it makes the charismatic element so strongly recommended by our recent General Chapters a reality. We encourage you to continue this process you have begun - it will make your missionary witness more vital and effective.

4. Proper use of possessions

The proper and transparent use of those possessions Providence allots us for the poor and the missions is a litmus test of the seriousness of our sense of belonging to the Institute and the authenticity of our zeal for the missions. Between the two opposite extremes of stinginess and paternalism there is an infinite variety of attitudes that clash with that "spirit" the Founder wished for us.
During the visitation we tried to clarify some questions about the proper use of possessions in the missions in the light of guidelines in the Institute's customs and legislation. These guidelines are based on three principles that govern and clarify the many possible situations that can arise in this area.
1. Through his religious consecration a Consolata missionary renounces the right to dispose freely of those goods he receives for the missions. In the May 1, 1985 Circular Letter of the Superior General we read: "Each of us, in his own sphere, administers goods that belong to all of us and which are destined to 'the service of evangelization' (Const. 158). In whatever position or office we work the plan is the same. We must be able to rise above our narrow personal concerns and look to the general good. Consequently no one, in what ever position he finds himself, can dispose of property as he pleases or as suits his purposes." (p. 4)
2. The missionary must learn to use possessions with the attitude of the "wise and faithful servant" in the Gospel, and realize that Providence is the Institute's primary resource. His administration must be conscientious, diligent, honest and responsible.
3. The Institute's principle of a common fund must be observed at the level of the local community, the region and the Institute. This principle prompts missionaries to embrace an austere style of life and be responsible and concerned for the common good in raising and spending money for their work.
In the light of these principles each missionary must be committed to following the Institute's norms in this area scrupulously. We exhort the whole regional community under the leadership of the Regional Administrator to examine the list of recommendations the visitors made during the final assembly. If need be it can be explained in greater detail so that each confrère has a clear understanding of our legislation on the use of property and knows how to keep proper accounts.

5. Mission and Vocation Promotion (MVP)

When the General Government approved the Acts of the most recent Regional Conference it made the following observations regarding mission and vocation promotion: "The Conference has made an obvious effort to promote missions and vocations in the Region. We encourage all missionaries to take up this task with courage and creativity - this is a field of activity that to a large extent is still unexplored n the Roraima Region."
During the visitation we noted that little has been done in this area. Changes of personnel and emergencies arising from the sickness of some confrères has kept the Regional Council from implementing this aspect of our missionary work or formulating any concrete programs.
We would like to suggest certain things that occurred to us in the course of the visitation. If they are taken up by the appropriate authorities they could help this area of missionary work proceed more smoothly.
- Wherever there is youth work there should also be vocation promotion. If this principle is valid for every Christian community it is even more valid in Christian communities in cities - where large numbers of young people make it more likely to find individuals with vocations. We believe that our increased presence in Manaus ought to coincide with renewed IMC vocation promotion.
- In every parish there should be a vocation group with a precise program of life and formation activities; there should also be occasions for prayer for vocations.
- Among the many vocation choices presented to young people, that of a Consolata missionary or sister should always be included and supported by the witness of our own lives. The commitment the Sixth Regional Conference made to present to the Christian people the witness of Blessed Allamano's holiness and the charism of our Institute offers a unique opportunity to speak about our specific vocation.
- Whenever IMC candidates or aspirants appear, take advantage of the structures of the Brazilian Region. Every missionary must be willing to assist in vocation discernment; he should do this diligently making an effort to discover the signs of a true calling from the Lord; he should make himself available for dialogue and spiritual direction. He should pay careful attention to the candidate's human dimension - frequently these young men come from backgrounds that create difficult problems.
- Put money aside every year for publishing material on the Institute, the Founder and IMC vocations. Everyone should be committed to distributing "Missões" and other missionary periodicals.
Finally the most important factor in vocation promotion is the example of our own lives as religious and missionaries. It's significance is rooted in discipleship of Christ - this is what has drawn us to abandon all things and follow Him alone. He it is who attracts and calls young people through the witness of our lives and the coherence between what we say and what we do.

6. Our Missionary Apostolate

We would make some recommendations about the two areas of apostolate that are typical of this region: work among the natives of the Raposa-Serra do Sol region and the Yanomami of Catrimani and pastoral work in the cities of Boa Vista and Manaus. We will also say something about Justice and Peace work which is especially important for the regional apostolate.
For a more exhaustive treatment we refer you to the Regional Conference which studied at length the significance of our work and offered useful guidelines and suggestions for the apostolate.

a. Native Apostolate

This has been the priority of both the Institute and the Diocese of Roraima for over twenty years. The fruits of this common effort have been many - among which we should point out: the birth and development of a consciousness of "native people"; widespread organization to defend the right to life and land; a commitment to health care and education; rediscovery of the Word of God and a renewal of Christian life. We would like to mention some of the choices the Institute and the Diocese have made and offer some practical and organizational suggestions.
- Both the Institute and the Diocese felt an urgent need for an effective coordination of the native apostolate. We noted with pleasure the Region's willingness to provide the Diocese with a full-time missionary for this coordination. The structures are still not sufficient though. Each of us must be convinced that for a variety of reasons work among the native population is so important it requires our full cooperation; we must be ready to collaborate with all those who work in this area.
- A detailed program should be drawn up for missionaries becoming involved in this work for the first time. Above all they must be given the opportunity to learn the local language. They should be ready to take an active and responsible part in the pastoral program of the Institute and the Diocese.
- We reaffirm the importance and significance of our presence among the Yanomami people. We are especially concerned with defending their rights to land, health care and education. We are also concerned with greater inter-religious dialogue. We believe that the decision taken in the past to close the road to the Mission at Catrimani will improve our contact with the native population and will release us from the burden of so many structures. The team must begin immediately to adapt its pastoral plan to the situation soon to emerge. It must downsize the Mission's structures and find new ways to support those native groups who live near the road. It is not difficult to see the positive effect this can have on our work; it will make it easier to concentrate on what is really more important for our presence among the Yanomami: learning their language, understanding their religious world, studying their culture, engaging in inter-religious dialogue.
- When the General Government approved the Acts of the most recent Regional Conference, it suggested that missionaries with pastoral experience be sent to Catrimani. We renew this suggestion and invite the regional council to study the best way for missionaries (especially priests) to alternate at intervals their work among the Yanomami with meaningful apostolic work, especially in the city.

b. Apostolate in the City

The Region has made pastoral work in the city another important area of missionary activity. The soon to be accomplished transfer of our two outposts in the country to the diocese (Alto Alegre and Taiano) will strengthen the team working in the city and make possible a new foundation in the teeming periphery of Manaus. The parish of Santa Luzia in Manaus can offer valuable support to our new foundation; it can involve lay people and religious in the creation of new Christian communities in those areas the Bishop will assign to us.
- The new-style urban apostolate desired by the bishops is still something new for the missionaries of the Region. Those who work in this area should make an honest effort to follow diocesan directives and improve their pastoral preparation.
- In line with the directives of the local Church and the Institute the following features should be present in an urban apostolate: involvement of missionaries in city neighborhoods and closeness to the people; training for lay people and a commitment to creating lay ministries; support for and collaboration with all who work in the native apostolate; special attention to young people and the vocation apostolate; extensive use of the media.

c. Justice, Peace and Protection of the Environment

The Region has always been actively involved in matters of justice, peace and the protection of the environment. International campaigns have been launched to sensitize public opinion to the concerns of native populations, the urban poor and the defense of human rights and cultures. The visitors urge you to continue on the path you are already following in spite of the obstacles you may encounter. Stand with all the active forces of the Church and society; work closely with the native and urban ministries.
We recommend that you use the modern media - especially the soon to be working diocesan radio station - as a means of reaching the people in the city effectively. Continue to educate yourselves and others; take an active part in national projects such as Lent of Brotherhood and the study weeks organized by the Diocese. Make good use of the manual recently published in Portuguese Justiça e Paz (2001).

7. Consolata Lay Missionaries (LMC)

The visitation reviewed the possibility of Consolata Lay Missionaries living alongside missionaries as fellow travelers and co-workers. Much to our surprise it seems that this is a real possibility in many places. Various communities have expressed their willingness to welcome lay missionaries trained according to the Institute's plan.
While the Region prepares for the imminent arrival of these Consolata Lay Missionaries I would like to point out attitudes each of us should cultivate if we are to derive maximum benefit personally and for the missions from the contributions of these young people.
- We must bear in mind that the Consolata Lay Missionary is not simply a volunteer who provides a professional service where needed but rather a Christian who is answering the call of Christ and placing himself at the service of the missions. His person and the witness of his life are as important to us as the professional service he may provide.
- As we live together with these lay missionaries we must bear in mind that they are lay people - they should not be forced to live the life of a consecrated religious. Still they have been trained to value prayer, collaboration, dialogue, common life and discipleship of Christ the Missionary as indispensable elements of their service in the missions.
- Specifically these lay people want to share with us the charism of Blessed Allamano whom they have come to know and love as a father and a teacher. It is up to us as the first-born sons of the Founder to make sure that the charism they hope to see in us is not missing.
- The lay person who arrives in our missions should be welcomed into the team and gradually introduced to his work; he must find human support and spiritual nourishment in our communities. We should draw up a detailed program of work and life with him that includes a balance of activities, training and relaxation.
- The Regional and local superiors have the primary responsibility for IMC lay missionaries. They should work closely and engage in dialogue with them; they should help them fit easily and beneficially into apostolic communities.
- In line with directives the Institute is about to issue, the local community and the Region will bear some of the financial burdens involved. This is one way of supporting the lay missionaries and making them feel they are really a part of our Family.

CONCLUSION

Even though only three and a half years separate this visitation from the previous one there are new, different and demanding situations being encountered for the first time that require prompt responses. On the political and social level we have found the same old situations that still require effective action, presence and sympathy on our part.
We shared the Christmas season with you - always a beautiful and meaningful time. With you - and for you - we prayed to the Son of God that there might be light in moments of darkness, strength in persecution, courage to stand always with the poor and the vulnerable. Your commitment and determination to help the native populations reacquire their identity and defend their rights have been a meaningful example for so many of us. The Institute, the local Church and the natives themselves are grateful to you. Well aware that the goal has not yet been achieved, each of you should take the paternal words of our Founder to heart: Avanti! Coraggio! (Go forward! Courage!)
The whole visitation was like a family feast - our sense of communion grew ever stronger. We recalled the 100-year history of the Institute and thanked God for the vocation He has given us and for the missionary work entrusted to the Institute - above all in these very needy territories of the Brazilian Amazon. Those four confrères who rest in the city cemetery (Fathers Calleri, Monticone, Colucci and Silvestri) together with Father Paolo Galbusera, buried in Manaus, intercede for the missions of this Region.
We are grateful to Father Sergio S. Weber for his company during this visitation, to the regional council for the meetings it has held with us, and to all of you who have welcomed us as brothers. In Roraima more than elsewhere we were aware of being brothers rather than "teachers." You told us about your lives and your work and we shared our opinions with you and told you about the progress and problems of the Institute and of missionaries working according to the charism of Blessed Allamano in other parts of the world.
The suggestions and directives we have outlined here are only a few of the many you put forward for the good of Mission and of the Region. May Our Lady, the Consolata, and Blessed Allamano bless you and guide you in carrying them out.
May St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein) the protectress of the Institute this year, obtain for you from the Lord, apostolic courage and integrity of life.
Fraternally,

Father Piero Trabucco, IMC
Father General
Father Aquiléo Fiorentini, IMC
Continental Councilor for America