Morning Session
Good morning. At 7.30 a.m., the chapter members gathered in the chapel for the praying of Lauds and the celebration of the Eucharist on the Feast of the Holy Family. The Eucharistic celebration was presided over by Fr. Ricardo Volo, assisted at the altar by Frs. Félix Martínez and José Enrique García.
At 9.30 a.m., we met in the meeting room (Chapter Hall) to continue with some of the work that had remained unfinished from the previous afternoon.
Following the proclamation of the reading from the Letter to the Colossians (from today’s Eucharistic liturgy) and prayer for Fr. Antúnez, who passed away yesterday in our community of Carvalhos–Seminary (Portugal), we began the morning working session.
The President drew the attention of the chapter members to the purpose of the evaluative session in which we are currently engaged. At this stage, we are not only evaluating the work of the government, but the life of the Province as a whole. It is important to seek moments of prayer that help us to situate our work within the framework of discerning God’s action in our communities and in our missionary activity.
The Provincial Secretary, Fr. Juan Carlos Monroy, concluded the presentation of the Government Report with a synthesis of the report regarding the Prefecture of Spirituality and Formation. Subsequently, Frs. Antonio Ávila and Manuel Ogalla, members of the Pre-Capitular Commission that prepared the synthesis document of the contributions from the communities and apostolic sectors, presented the document. They explained the methodology used and its contents, which sought to reflect the shared discernment of the Province.
Fr. Jorge Sánchez then presented a report on the steps taken within the Province regarding the creation of safe environments for the protection of minors and vulnerable adults.
Continuing with the evaluative phase, Fr. Manuel Segura, Provincial Econome, presented the financial report. This occupied the remainder of the morning.
Afternoon Session
The afternoon session began at 4.00 p.m., in order to allow some personal time beforehand for reading and studying the reports.
At the outset, the President asked the Chapter to ratify the commissions appointed to carry out various capitular services (Animation, Communication, Liturgy and Review of the Minutes). All the commissions were ratified. He also informed the assembly that the moderators of the sessions would be Frs. Abilio Ramos and Pedro Cabrera.
He then outlined several guidelines for the group dialogues, calling for clarity, precision and a spirit of consensus in the proposals.
After this, the formation of the working groups was organized. These groups devoted a substantial part of the afternoon to dialogue on the Government Reports and to formulating questions to be addressed to the Provincial Government.
Once the group work had concluded, the group secretaries forwarded to the Chapter Secretary the questions they wished to address to the Government.
The praying of Vespers brought the afternoon session and the work of this second day to a close. Laus Deo!
