Alì Terme (Italy). From 13 to 20 September 2024, in the House of Mary Help of Christians in Alì Terme, Messina, in Mother Maddalena Morano Province (ISI), where the remains of the Blessed rest, the Spiritual Exercises were held for the Provincials of the CIME Conference of the Middle East and Europe.
The Exercises on the theme of discernment at personal, community, and provincial levels were led by Fr. Giuseppe Cassaro, a Salesian of Don Bosco.
The Vicar General, Sister María del Rosario García Ribas, joined the group for the closing of the Exercises and for the visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Tindari, where the FMA could learn about the history of the Sanctuary and contemplate the beautiful statue of Our Lady. It dates back to about 800AD from Turkey and the Middle East, and was brought to Tindari by sailors in the Byzantine epoch.
The statue, carved in wood, is located above the altar, and at its feet there is a biblical quotation in Latin, taken from the Song of Songs: “Nigra sum sed Formosa” – “I am dark but beautiful” (Ct 1:5). The frieze of the central nave also shows St. John Bosco, St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello, St. Dominic Savio, and many other saints. The visit to this Marian Shrine was completed by a traditional Sicilian meal of fish and seafood.
On 21 September, the Provincials and the Vicar General gathered for the CIME Presidency, guided by the theme ‘Redesigning’, a process in which all the Provinces are currently engaged. The reflection began with the choice of an image to describe one’s Province at present, followed by a sharing in small groups. After that, each one was asked to think about the three most important questions that every Province has to face in this time and share them with the group, then find three common ones to report back to the assembly. The sharing, which was very enriching, clearly highlighted the fact that, despite territorial differences, the same challenges are being faced. Some of the questions are:
What is the Lord calling us to as we move into the future? How can we continue to accompany the Sisters, the laity, the young people going forward? How can we ensure that our communities are truly vocational? How do we help the older Sisters transmit the charism with joy? How to ensure the economic sustainability of the Provinces in the future? How can we help the Educating Communities respond to the needs of today’s young people? These questions were not given definitive answers, but it was important to exchange ideas and listen to each other.
The challenge of ‘re-designing’ and its significance for each was then examined closely. The strongest idea that emerged is, “to have the opportunity to do something in a new way that will be fruitful for all.” Sharing in small groups the experiences about how this process is being lived, with its joys and difficulties, increased the sense of unity among the Provincials, with the awareness of current situations of aging, rising cost of living, decrease in vocations, but also with the great desire to ensure an apostolic future for the Sisters who will come. And above all, with the comfort of facing all this ‘together’ with mutual support in prayer and encouragement to undertake the path towards the future.
The intense day ended with an evening of fraternity together with the local community, opened by the arrival of the “medieval aristocracy”, with food, music, and traditional Sicilian dances.
Work resumed on Sunday morning, examining the preparatory phases for the triennial verification to be held in Fatima in January 2025. Each Province is invited to send its own answers to the questions, without exceeding in length. The planning team has tried to keep the process as simple as possible.
On Monday 23 September, the group had the opportunity to visit Syracuse. The day began with a visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Tears, where in 1953, Antonina Iannuso was healed while she witnessed the crying of a plaster image depicting the Madonna in her husband’s parents’ home. The image was then removed and placed in the Basilica built in 1954 which, during his visit in 2002, Pope John Paul II elevated to the rank of Minor Basilica.
After a period of personal reflection and prayer, the visit to the Catacombs of St. John followed; then to the Basilica of St. John Evangelist, to the Cathedral of Syracuse, with the chapel dedicated to Saint Lucy, and to the Arethusa fountain, a fresh water source a few meters from the sea.
Back at Alì Terme, the Provincials celebrated the Eucharist in thanksgiving for everything they had lived, seen, and shared. After dinner, they expressed their gratitude to the community of Ali Terme for everything they had done silently to make their stay comfortable and pleasant. A special thanks was addressed to Sister Angela Maria Maccioni and her Province for their warm welcome.
