Today, November 14th, the official inauguration of the XXI General Chapter took place with a solemn Holy Mass in St. Peter, at the altar of St. Joseph. The Mass was celebrated by H.E. Cardinal João Braz de Aviz, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life. The concelebrants were Fr. Jacob Nampudakam, SAC, Superior General, and Fr. Martin Manus, SAC, General Councillor and Chapter Facilitator.
At the beginning Sr. Izabela Świerad, SAC, the Superior General of the Missionary Pallottine Sisters, greeted the Cardinal on behalf of the capitulars and explained that these capitulars represent the communities of their provinces, regions and delegatures in 13 countries.
In his homily the Cardinal underlined the importance of listening to the Word of God which reaches us through the Church, especially in the person of the Pope. He also stressed the importance of collaboration as one of the main elements of our Pallottine charism, and the service to the poor. Listening to the words of Jesus, the Sisters’ task, following the example of Mary, is to transform contemplation into concrete practice. The Cardinal prayed that the Chapter, amidst the difficulties of the modern world, will be a time of truth, openness to the light of the Holy Spirit and joy. “You were born in the Cenacle of Pentecost,” he said, “and your task is to go to the peripheries of the world to bring Jesus, who has to be the centre of your life, to all people. If however you will stay in the centre and not go to the periphery, you will give nothing to the world”.
The Eucharist was also attended by a group of Roman Pallottine Sisters, namely Sr. Ivete Garlet, CSAC, Superior General, and the entire leadership team, as well as by Sr. Vittoria D’Imperio, Provincial Superior of the Italian Province, and Pallottine lay members, among them Mrs. Donatella Acerbi, President of the UAC.
In the evening, the first session of the Chapter took place, in which Sr. Izabela Świerad SAC, Superior General, officially opened the XXI General Chapter.
