UPDATE 98 P.le M. Champagnat, 2 - C.P. 10250 - 00144 Roma www.champagnat.org 30.11.2001 Tel.(39) 06 545 171 - Fax (39) 06 545 17 217 – Email: [email protected]

XX GENERAL CHAPTER that the price of a renewed Marist religious life will be high indeed.

This issue includes the two most recent Marcellin learned a similar lesson dur- Chapter Bulletins posted on the web, and ing his own journey of faith, and was fond of brings our special coverage of the 20th Gener- telling his early followers: “To become a al Chapter to a close. Beginning with the next brother is to undertake to become a saint.” A issue, FMS Update will return in its usual pious thought some might say! No, Marcellin format. Champagnat was dead serious. And so, to- day, he might very well say to you and to me: “To refound Marist life, you must first of all fall In this, the next-to-the-last issue in our series in love with God, totally and permanently, of Chapter Bulletins, we would like to thank without condition, without qualification, and Brother Seán Sammon, Superior General, for without reservation.” his thoughtfulness in adding a personal note for all our subscribers and visitors to our On gathering in September of this Marist web site. year, Chapter members quickly realized that the theme of Vitality of the Institute was well chosen, and the meeting’s slogan—Choose A moment of extraordinary grace Life—an apt description of the work that lay ahead. Relying on the fruit of two years of in the life of our Institute prayerful preparation by many brothers and lay partners, delegates entered into a process As Vatican II opened, Pope John XXIII of discernment and over six weeks arrived at inspired his listeners with these words: “The some concrete and practical lines of action. Council now beginning rises in the Church This end result was, in some ways, the full like day break, a forerunner of most splendid flowering of the outcome of similar gatherings light. It is now only dawn. And already at this held during the years since Vatican II. first announcement of the rising day, how much sweetness fills our hearts.” With that said, we must admit also

th that any General Chapter is but a beginning, Forty years later, as our 20 Marist the first step in a journey of many miles. Yes, General Chapter came to a close, its 118 a Chapter’s real work gets underway in members wrote a Message to their brothers earnest once the last delegate has departed, and to all who hold dear the charism of Mar- and chairs have been folded up, platforms cellin Champagnat. In it, they included these collapsed, the banners, and flags, and words: “With Mary in our midst, we lived a bunting stored away for another day. We real Pentecost: many tongues, but a single stand at this point, once again, today. What heart,” and reminded us all that the dawn of lies ahead? John XXIII’s new day is already well under- way. As we begin to live the Message and implement the decisions of our 20th General A General Chapter is a moment of ex- Chapter, let’s keep in mind these three traordinary grace in the life of any Institute, points. First of all, our need to admit to our- and our most recent one was no exception to selves and to others that most new begin- that rule. But the grace of this Chapter includ- nings are fraught with difficulties. Every ed a special blessing: a growing realization UPDATE Number 98 Rome, November 30, 2001 page 2 dream in its unfolding has its moments of Superior General doubt. Marcellin was given the grace of be- Rome, 29 November 2001 ginning our religious Institute, we have been given the grace of helping it to begin again. Responding to that challenge, however, will LAST BUT NOT LEAST…NUMBER 50 be neither simple nor easy. If, at times, the Following greetings to our Marist subscribers tasks appear too demanding, the problems by Br. Seán, our new Superior General, in too formidable, and the journey too discour- Bulletin 49 of this series, we come to our 50th aging, why be surprised? After all, new begin- and final edition. It’s time to enter the post- nings are most often fraught with difficulty. Chapter period. In its special Message, the 20th General Chapter handed on to us some Next, the importance of keeping our very clear and simple guidelines, a renewed focus on several elements identified by Chap- way of facing today’s world by means of dis- ter members as essential for the renewal of cernment, and a new governing team. All of our Institute: further developing a spirituality this in order to give new energy and dy- that is both apostolic and Marial ; clarifying namism to our Marist Institute, one in keeping our identity as brothers and the important with the times in which we live. place of mission and community in that identi- ty; helping to promote the place of Marist OUR WEB SITE SET TO ENTER ITS partnership in the life of our Institute and, in a SECOND PHASE clear and decisive way, together with lay- Ending the publication of Chapter Bulletins women and men drawing closer to the poor- doesn’t mean that we’re closing down our est and most marginalised of young people, web site. Rather it signals a time of transition that will result in the appearance of a brand Finally, our need to take seriously the new official site for our Marist Institute. This Good News of Jesus Christ, as Marcellin did. transition period will begin on December 1, He was a holy man because he lived his ordi- 2001 and end on August 31, 2002. During nary life exceptionally well and did ordinary that time, new sections covering new areas things with extraordinary love. Having discov- will come on line, and an information bulletin ered the joy of the gospel and letting it trans- about our Marist work throughout the world form him, the founder wanted to share with will be put together and e-mailed to sub- others, particularly poor children and young scribers. Next March and April, discussions people, all that he had seen and heard. Our will be held with the General Council concern- Chapter delegates concluded their Message ing a new concept and design for converting echoing this same spirit: “…united with you, the Chapter web page into our official Marist we thank the Lord God for calling us to site. That should be up and running beginning choose life and ‘Put out into deep water.’ Let on September 1, 2002. Over time, our visitors us go forward filled with faith and trust in Him, and subscribers will be able to avail them- knowing that our hope will not let us down.” selves of this new range of information and services. Our objective continues to be maxi- Our new General Administration looks mizing the number of our subscribers and forward to working together with all who sharing with them our mission and spirituality share the dream and charism of Marcellin as well as the latest news about ourselves. Champagnat so as to bring to life the spirit and decisions of our 20th General Chapter. STATISTICS… AN UPBEAT PICTURE So, please join us in prayer and hard work as The Chapter’s web page sought to let every- we labor to make real for our time and place one interested in our Marist world have an in- the vision of our founder: “To love God,” he side look at the day-to-day events within our so often said, “and to make God known and 20th General Chapter. In constructing the site, loved, this is what a brother’s life should be.” we chose to keep things simple so as to pro- With these few words, he painted his own vide easy access for everyone, especially in portrait and told his own story. His was truly a areas having only minimal access to services heart that knew no bounds. Let the same be on the web. said of each of us. Here are some facts gleaned from our statisti- cal data: Seán D. Sammon, FMS UPDATE Number 98 Rome, November 30, 2001 page 3

. There were 59,319 visits to the web site, letins here in this isolated corner of the Marist and a total of 1,799,057 requests. More world. Br. Cyrus writes: During my more than than 1000 visits a day during the Chapter. 50 years as a Brother, this is the first time . Total amount of traffic: more than 3 giga- I’ve felt the General Chapter come alive in bytes (68 megabytes a day during the my life. Chapter). Brothers and lay people, teachers, students . Greatest usage: on Wednesdays; by married couples, fraternities, communities, times, from 4 to 8 p.m., Rome time. alumni, friends... from all over the world. . Highest impact days: October 3rd (election These tributes show us that time spent on of Superior General and Vicar), October computers in quiet offices fosters communion 9th (election of Councilors), and Septem- with the charism of Marcellin. ber 5th (day following the Inauguration). . About 1600 postcards were sent. THANK YOU! . Present number of subscribers: 1750 and As director for the Chapter web site and edi- counting. tor of these Bulletins, I want to express my gratitude to the many people who have MOVING TRIBUTES FROM OUR backed our efforts to turn our dreams into re- SUBSCRIBERS ality. Thanks to Br. Benito and his Council for We felt it was important not to have an inter- approving the plans. To Br. Seán and the active site during the weeks that the Chapter Publications Commission for studying the was in session. We did not want people in matter and giving it their support. To Brs. countries with more sophisticated resources Richard Dunleavy and Henri Réocreux and to exert greater influence on the progress of Mr. Stefano Angelucci for installing the com- the Chapter than those in poorer places with puter technology necessary in the General less means. House. To Br. Juan Miguel Anaya for his sup- Even so, we received many moving and port and involvement as Secretary of the beautiful tributes during that time. And thou- Preparatory Commission. To the Brother del- sands of messages have come in since the egates, those I have worked with during their Chapter ended. We have only had time to re- plenary sessions, for the freedom they have ply to messages containing very specific re- given me to snap some four thousand digital quests. photos, and for their comments and advice We don’t want to leave this first stage of com- concerning some of the Bulletins and video- munication behind without expressing our taping. Likewise, to all the lay participants at thankfulness for the kindness, support and the Chapter. To all the brothers who served encouragement that we have received from as translators: Gerry Brereton, Mario Colussi our subscribers and visitors via the Internet. and John Allen for English; Aimé Maillet and A few snippets: We’ve all felt as if we were Alain Delorme, French; João Fagherazzi and Chapter members; up-to-the minute news, al- Aristides Zanella, Portuguese; Francisco most to the second; a new way for lay people Castellanos and Teodoro Barriuso, Spanish. to be present; extraordinary work of inform- Special thanks to the brothers who did dis- ing; we’ve been following the Chapter while tance translating for almost all of these Bul- on vacation; we talked about it in community; letins from their home countries: Eugene Thanks for sharing; For the first time, we’ve Dwyer for English; Ernest Cenci, French; and been able to follow the Chapter on a daily ba- Virgilio Ballestro, Portuguese. Every night sis; Thanks for bringing information to every their translations flowed in from the Philip- corner of the world; We’re all up to date with pines, France, and Brazil so our subscribers what’s happening, both novices and our se- could receive them the following day. Thanks nior brothers; My thanks for all the time and to Gisella Toselli for inputting countless docu- work involved, so that even the most isolated ments and photos in her patient and efficient parts of the Marist world wouldn’t have to way. Thanks to Br. Yvon Bédard for refining wait weeks before finding out what was hap- our photo collections. Special thanks to Br. pening at the Chapter. Even though we don’t Carlos Osés, who volunteered to help me so have access to the Internet, the Provincial generously, above and beyond taking care of House in Harare (Zimbabwe) sends us his many other responsibilities. His time and copies of their emails right away. From Papua friendship lowered tension levels in a stress- New Guinea: We continue to receive the Bul- filled job. UPDATE Number 98 Rome, November 30, 2001 page 4

A conversation with Br. Nito Moraldo put me vice with the assistance of Emmanuele de in contact with Mr. Giancarlo Rilla, communi- Andreis. Thanks to all of you. cations director for the City of San Remo, And finally, thanks to our subscribers and who invited me to his home. His technical ex- regular and occasional visitors… Without you pertise, together with his deep Christian faith, the message would have been adrift in the helped put the project on solid ground. complex circuitry of the Internet, a medium Graziano Poretti, director of Due Mettri, geared to spread the charism of Saint Mar- helped refine the technology and assumed cellin Champagnat, in line with the motto for responsibility for it. Marco Boeri (tireless, his canonization: A heart that knows no available on line just about 24 hours a day) bounds. solved one glitch after another, improving ser- Brother Lluís Serra

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