From October 15th to 28^th, we, the sisters who are responsible for vocation promotion and initial formation in Africa/the Islands and Latin America, met in our house in Rome, with Sr. Dolores Diez de Revenga, who is responsible for formation at general level.  The purpose of the meeting was to revise the formation plan of 2005.

Our meeting lasted two weeks.  In the first part we revised and reflected on the formation plan in the light of our experience in formation, the reflections of the study on our Identity, the UISG and Commission for Justice, Peace and Integration of Creation (J.P.I.C.) document “Guide us in your justice.”  We contributed our reflections with the desire that they serve as orientations for the coming years.

The sharing from our different realities helped us to feel closer to diverse cultures, to broaden our horizons and to realize that we are seeking the same path of formation, while being conscious of the different realities and processes.   

We experienced this opportunity to reflect together on formation as an important step in the sense of being one body and being open to the new challenges that we encounter.

One day we had the opportunity to visit our museum and the archives of the congregation guided by Sr. Mary Henihan, who shared with us the meaning of conserving our history as an enrichment which helps us to live our charism today.  Our original texts, annual letters, reports, etc…form part of our collective memory and create bonds of communion and identity between different generations.  We experienced our history as being full of the life of so many sisters, houses, which have contributed to that which we are today.  

We also had the opportunity to meet with the sisters of general level and to dialogue about subjects that interest us in relation to the Congregation and to formation.

The second part of our meeting was animated by Sr. Micheline Rossignol, of the Region of France.  We reflected on Ignatian spirituality from the perspective of the spirituality of the Incarnation, linked with the different stages of initial formation.  From our experience we strengthen the different elements of Ignatian spirituality: discernment, the process of the exercises, accompaniment, re-reading of our experience, etc … and how to accompany this process in each stage of formation.  

From the day we arrived we felt warmly welcomed by the sisters of the community of Rome, who by their attentiveness promoted a climate of communion which helped in the smooth running of the meeting and made us feel at home.  We are very grateful for the possibility of sharing with them and among ourselves.  All of this has created close bonds which we wish to continue to strengthen among us.

We thank the Congregation which made this meeting possible and the sisters who contributed in different ways to its realization.