San Antonio (Texas). From 10 to 15 September 2024, at the headquarters of Immaculate Mary Province (SUO) in San Antonio, Texas, the Seminar “For a generative animation” was held for the NAC Interprovincial Conference, including the United States west (SUA) and the United States east and Canada (SEC).
With great joy and enthusiasm, on 9 September the Educating Communities of SUO Province welcomed Mother Chiara Cazzuola and six members of the General Council – the Vicar, Sister María del Rosario García Ribas, Sister Nilza Fatíma de Moraes (Formation), Sister Leslie Sándigo (Salesian Family), Sister Maria Ausilia De Siena (Social Communication), Sister Ena Veralís Bolaños (Administration), and Sister Phyllis Neves, Visiting Councilor – arrived from Mexico, where the CIMAC Seminar was held.
Sister Thuy Huong Nguyen, SUO Provincial, Sister Colleen Clair, Provincial of the Saint Joseph Province (SEC), with members of the Provincial Councils and Teams – in all 36 FMA – participated in this historic moment of grace.
Each day of the Seminar began with a video meditation by Sister Maria Ko, who presented the lectio divina of some passages from the Acts of the Apostles, highlighting their synodal nature and how the early Church was guided by the Spirit. Through these reflections, the FMA were invited to rediscover their belonging to the Church and to renew their fervor for the “strong missionary impulse” (C. FMA, art. 1) of the Institute.
The seminar focused on three main themes: synodality, generativity, and the service of authority. Every morning, Mother Chiara recalled how these principles had already been lived in Mornese and how Mother Mazzarello can be the model to implement them today in the Salesian Charism. Several experts – Fr. Pascual Chavez, Rector Major Emeritus of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Fr. Thomas Klosterkamp, OMI, and Dr. Bernardo Toro – then expanded these themes in the perspectives of the Church and the world. Dr. Toro of the AVINA Foundation spoke forcefully about the need for a new ethical paradigm based on care: caring for oneself, caring for others, and caring for the planet. In the afternoon, the sisters internalized the contents and experienced their practical applications through activities such as sharing in small groups and assembly and role-playing.
The culminating moment of each day was the Eucharistic Celebration, in which the Sisters gathered with their hearts filled with joy and gratitude for all the blessings received. Some temporary professed Sisters and young people in formation helped decorate the chapel, adding beauty to the liturgy. The participants of the Seminar expressed their gratitude to the Community of the Provincial House of SUO for their hospitality and prayer throughout the event.
Every day ended with the Good Night of Mother Chiara, which resumed the themes of the day. In some moments, she spontaneously shared some of the realities of the Institute in the world, helping the Sisters to feel part of the great Salesian Family.
The seminar ended with the opportunity to plan, as Provinces and as an inter-provincial conference, the concrete ways to renew the commitment to give life to the Salesian charism in the United States.
On the final evening, the participants of the Seminar thanked with creativity and joyful expressions, Mother and the Sisters of the General Council.
The seminar was a gift to the FMA’s present, who were impressed by the simplicity and dedication with which Mother Chiara and the General Councilors have taken care of every detail and who consider it a blessing to have been able to share the experience together as an inter-provincial conference. The sisters left with a heart full of gratitude and with the desire to be generative presences of the Salesian charism for others, especially for young people.
With this Seminar, the last one after CIB, CICSAL, CINAB, CIAO-SPR, PCI, CIMAC – the experience foreseen by the General Council’s 2022-2027 Six-Year Program ends with the aim of activating a reflection and a vital sharing that prepares to live animation and government in the synodal style of “communication, participation, and mission,” in fidelity to the Charism of the origins.
Photos: Flickr FMA
