Rome (Italy). Having reached the conclusion of the summer meeting of the Plenum, in Choral Circular no. 1040, Mother Chiara Cazzuola and the General Councilors of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, expressing gratitude for the prayers and messages of closeness, they share significant experiences and some upcoming appointments.
Traces of holiness
Recalling the spiritual and charismatic heritage of the Institute, fruitful in rich and incisive models of holiness, they invite in particular to trustful prayer “for the successful outcome of the cause of canonization of Sister Maria Troncatti, on the 55th anniversary of her death, which took place on 25 August 1969.”
They also recall that on 28 April 2024, the diocesan inquiry for the process of beatification and canonization of Sister Antonietta Böhm was closed and that on 27 June the Roman phase opened.
Another FMA who spent her life with generosity, “so that the Institute may flourish according to God’s plan, overcoming the various challenges of the historical moment,” is Mother Catherine Daghero. On the occasion of the centenary of her death, we are rediscovering her more and more, also thanks to the events organized this year: the Congress at Nizza on 24 February; the celebrations at Cumiana, the town of her birth; and the Congress at Roma in the Generalate on the 8th of June.
The video with a short biography made by the Social Communications Sector, in collaboration with the General Secretariat and the Center for Studies on the FMA of the Pontifical Faculty of the Science of Education of the Auxilium is available on the YouTube channel of the FMA Institute.
To Mother Catherine Daghero, whose animation was characterized by a “remarkable missionary impulse”, is entrusted the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first missionary departure of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (14 November 1877) so that it may become an opportunity to make Mother Mazzarello’s exhortation a reality, “It is time to revive the fire!” In this regard, they invite animating with enthusiasm the Educating Communities to participate in the Competition for the creation of the Logo and the Hymn that will accompany the many local and international initiatives of the three-year period of preparation for the event.
Together to generate life
Mother and the Sisters of the Council then share some experiences lived in a family spirit: the Spiritual Exercises, “an experience of silence, of interiority, of contemplation, favored by the splendid landscape of Sant’Agnello di Sorrento (Naples),” concluded on 25 June in Torre Annunziata (Naples) with an afternoon festivity of vocational nature with the Sisters and the Educating Communities of Mother of Good Counsel Province (IMR).
“A strong family spirit also characterized the period of reception and formation of the 14 new Provincials” in Santa Rosa House in Castelgandolfo (Rome) using interactive, workshop, and experiential modes to deepen the service of animation and government in the light of General Chapter XXIV.
The experience of the Seminars for a Generative Animation, foreseen in the General Council’s Programming (2022-2027), is also continuing. After the Seminars of CIB, CICSAL and CINAB, held in March 2024, in August it will be the turn of the East Asia Interprovincial Conference (CIAO) with the Pacific Region Province (SPR), and the Conference of India (PCI)In September. The CIMAC Conference Seminars will be held in Mexico for the Antilles and Central America, and the North American Conference (NAC).
With the Salesian Family
Mother and the Counselors also invite us to accompany with prayer two appointments of the Salesian Family. From 11 to 16 August 2024 in Turin-Valdocco and at the Colle Don Bosco will be held the Salesian Youth Synod which will involve young people of the Salesian Youth Movement (SYM) from all over the world and some FMA and SDB representatives of the Inter-provincial Conferences and the different Regions.
The Rector Major, Cardinal Ángel Fernández Artime, will be present at this event, and on 16 August he will conclude his term as Rector Major. To him, Mother and the Counselors express gratitude and with fraternal prayer entrust “his life and his new mission to Mary Help of Christians, Mother and Teacher, sure presence as guide of the Salesian Family.”
Another world event, in which Mother and the Counselor for the Salesian Family will participate, is the IX International Congress of Mary Help of Christians, promoted by the Association of Mary Help of Christians (ADMA) and addressed to all groups of the Salesian Family. It will take place in Fatima, Portugal, from 29 August to 1 September 2024, on the theme ‘I will give you the Teacher’.
Towards August 5th
Circular No. 1040 ends with a special greeting for August 5th:
“The ‘yes’ of St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello and the first Daughters of Mary Help of Christians is renewed in each one of us, especially in the Sisters who celebrate their Jubilee of 25, 50, 60, 70, and 75 years of Profession. May their witness and their offering, together with that of the elderly sisters who are sick or in various difficulties, sustain the fidelity of all, especially those who will begin their novitiate, who will make their First Profession or Perpetual Profession, and of the Sisters who will renew their religious vows.
May Mary Help of Christians, Mother and Teacher, as she walks among us, continue to bless us and sustain our mission!”.
Thank you, Dear Mother and the Sisters of the General Council for your loving service to the
Institute. We love you and we pray for you. God bless!