CONTIGO Nº 1. April 2013 FEATURED OPINION Anabela Carneiro. General Mother Superior "We have started our newsletter "CONTIGO" to share knowledge, experiences, projects..." person of divine inspiration. This It is crucial to enhance the visibility of Word serves to increase the information in and out of our setting, communion of human beings with not only at an institutional level but God, proposing his saving message also as a means for promoting health. to a world that does not yet know it. "We cannot love what we do not The Church follows the same know, and we are only inspired to communicative principle; as a action and commitment by what we community of believers, it is love" (MII2). simultaneously a creator of communion and of communication. "We cannot love According to the document of the XIX General Chapter, the call to build what we do not Anabela Carneiro. the Kingdom from our identity General Mother Superior encourages us to globalize know, and we are hospitality. Profound communion in charism drives us to work in a more only inspired to It is my pleasure to introduce to the coordinated fashion, with a action and Institution our first newsletter, which systematized organization at all is intended for the entire hospitaller levels and intervention strategies, commitment by community and was created as a which lead to complementarity. channel for coming together and what we love" global growth. We need to implement and The basis of communication from the strengthen systems of cooperation perspective of faith can be found in and exchange between centers, Modern technology allows us to share the divine will to communicate His provinces and the Congregation. our action and develop more efficient proposal for salvation. communication channels; this well With this goal in mind, we have help us capitalize on and share the It is God who took the initiative to started our newsletter "CONTIGO" to experience of so many years of hospi- communicate with humankind. The share knowledge, experiences, tality and to be transmitters of the history of salvation shows us how the projects, etc. and thus contribute to "good news of God's healing to the Word of God has come to human further enrichment of our mission people of today." beings "mediated" by an author or a and hospitaller identity. 1 CONTIGO INSTITUTIONAL RESTRUCTURING PROCESS In 2007, the Congregation began a restructuring process to advance the goal of "living out the experience of following Jesus with creative fidelity, looking towards the experience of our origins and updating structures to meet the current challenges of the hospitaller mission". The guiding principle of this process is the mission and the final horizon is a renewed Congregation. On May 31, 2007, the General Mother Superior officially commenced the "restructuring process." The icon chosen to illuminate this process was the Visitation, "an encounter The visitation of Mary to Elizabeth between the old and the new [...], called to recreate the feminine face of hospitality." During this sexennium, we have gone through the stages of raising awareness, analysis of the current state, project design and five major restructuring options. In 2011, we began several changes, in particular the creation of a single province in Spain and America and the unification of the training centers of the three structures in America. Towards the creation of the Province in Spain in 2016, a committee was Province of Spain established with two sisters and two co-workers: Sister Matilde Porras, as a delegate of the General Mother Superior, Sister Ludivina Sánchez, Alejandro Florit and Fernando Prior. This committee is furthering the Hospitallers of Spain project, approved in early 2012, which consisted of five stages and concludes with the creation of the Province of Spain on April 24, 2016. In this unification process, the objectives to be carried out between the provinces were agreed in a joint pre-chapter stage with the three provinces. This path is being taken in a participatory manner, and for this reason, a series of work groups have been established to coordinate the committee. Restructuring committee in Spain Recently, the committee completed the first phase: presentation and reception of the project, Towards the goal of uniting the provinces of Barce- for which they visited the communities and lona, Madrid and Palencia in a single Canonical centers of the three provinces of Spain. 2 CONTIGO In Committee Notice No. 6., in addition to Towards the creation of the expressing gratitude for the warm reception they Province of America have received, the committee shares a series of common elements that are found in all apostolic To carry out the objectives of the process, we have work and that give meaning to this process: established a committee of three sisters: Ernestina Aros, from Chile, delegate of the General Mother - We care for people with increasingly complex Superior for the restructuring. Working with her are needs, who come to us after passing through Lourdes Vieira from Brazil and Mónica Burbano various institutions without finding an adequate from Colombia. solution to their problems and receive the quality technical and human care they need. This shows The objectives set to encourage the process of that our Mission is still fully valid. creation of the Province of America are: - Sisters and co-workers embody the value of - To manage, encourage, drive and accompany the hospitality and carry out their work with process of unification with decision. considerable dedication. The Mission we perform is - To coordinate the process with the Provincial characterized by a common style that sets us apart Mother Superior of Colombia and the Vice from other institutions. Provincial Mothers Superior of Brazil and - The Institution has made great efforts in updating Argentina. our structures and in technological development, - To promote a dynamic of "circles of support" to with improved and innovative care for the people the hospitaller community by creating nine we serve ever in mind. interprovincial committees. MEETING OF LATIN AMERICAN MOTHERS SUPERIOR Anabela Carneiro alongside Mothers Superior of Latin America In the context of the restructu- perior, Anabela Carneiro, who The focus of the 8th was to reflect ring process, a meeting of later led the retreat for the sisters. on the reality of the communities. mothers superior of Latin On the 9th and 10th, Father Víctor America was held from March 8 The goal of this meeting was to Martínez, S.J. participated in the to 11 in Bogota, Colombia. reflect on the style of encourage- meeting to enlighten the sisters' ment and government from a reflection, and on the 11th, they Participating in the meeting were methodology of seeing, judging set out the course of action to re- 26 sisters from Argentina, Bolivia, and acting, all under the motto: create his style of encouragement Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, "Driven by the Spirit, we recreate and governance. Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, toge- his style of encouragement and ther with the General Mother Su- hospitaller governance together”. 3 CONTIGO "All of Asia is bursting with possibilities" The Philippines has recently hospitaller mission as well as gone through a special time, structures to carry it through. celebrating the 25th anniver- sary of the Congregation's Aware of this reality, we felt it presence in the Asian country was a good idea to hold this and hosting of the first Assembly in our own setting as Assembly of the Delegation. the best opportunity to advance along the path we have taken In honor of this event, Sister and respond to the XX General Asunción Riopedre, Vicar and Chapter's challenge of First General Councilor, shares recreating hospitality in the María Asunción Riopedre what she saw and experienced Philippines. General Vicar last February in Cebu. What topics were addressed at What is the current status of the Assembly? What conclu- incorporate cooperation with the the Hospitaller Sisters in Asia? sions were reached? remaining hospitaller All of Asia is bursting with The topics were those that are delegations in Asia. possibilities. On the one hand, addressed in these assemblies Sister Mª Asunción Riopedre Sister there are many needs that according to our law: life and What are the Congregation's require attention and response, mission, economics and main challenges in Asia? but on the other hand, there are finances, a plan for the With the large number of young vibrant sisters offering sexennium based on an analysis vocations in Asia, the main hospitality. of the real-life situation and the challenges in this continent will document from the XX General focus on Youth Vocational Why was it decided to hold Chapter. Ministry and the training of the first Assembly of the Phi- young sisters, while always lippine Delegation? One aspect we emphasized in working towards fulfilling the The Philippines are currently a the Assembly was the approach Mission in our apostolic work delegation of the province of to a process towards greater and towards implementing and Italy. It has 25 years of history in independence and prominence consolidating the organizational the Congregation's life and of the Philippine sisters in and governance structure that is mission; it has enough sisters to accordance with the rules of the most suitable at this time. guide and encourage the Congregation and trying to Anabela Carneiro and Asuncion Riopedre with some sisters from the Philippines and Vietnam 4 CONTIGO A community resource The city council of Albese con rights and obligations regardless Cassano has demonstrated its of our health status or any willingness to collaborate with physical and/or mental disease the Villa San Benedetto Menni was may have. Users of the Day Center by signing a center are not only an expense two-year agreement to specify for society; they are also a the compatible areas for resource to the broader therapeutic procedures / community.