Meeting of Provincial Councils of the North-West European Provinces
Provincial Superiors with members of the Ordinary and Extraordinary Provincial Councils of the North-West European Provinces gathered from 1-3 June 2022 in Rome. Fr. Alberto Eseverri, C.Ss.R., Vicar General, and Fr. Johannes Römelt, C.Ss.R., Coordinator of the Redemptorist Conference of Europe, also participated.
The meeting marked the next step on the path to the Federation of the four Redemptorist Units in the ongoing restructuring process for the sake of the mission. Fr. David McCallum S.J., director of the Discerning Leadership Program, was invited to assist the participants in their discussion and the work on envisioning a new shape of cooperation in the near future.
Statement of the participants at the meeting of Provincial Leaders with members of the Ordinary and Extraordinary Provincial Councils of the North-West European Provinces from 1-3 June 2022 in Rome on the state of the Federation negotiations
We walked a path together as a “retreat” and at the same time working meeting under the professional guidance of two external facilitators.
It was characterized by
– recalling the journey that we have taken so far
– listening to each other,
– reflecting,
– praying and listening to God’s call in silence and fellowship, as well as
– looking into the future and thus sensing what the Holy Spirit is calling us to as Redemptorists.
All this happened in a trusting and confraternal atmosphere that helped us to move forward on our common journey.
We have become more aware of our responsibility for the future presence of the Redemptorist Family in the territory of the four Provinces in North-West Europe. We have assured each other that we will enter into a formal federation by 2025, leading us to the goal of becoming one Province. We are united by our common vision of bringing Christ, the Redeemer, to the people of our day. We feel as Redemptorists to be proud to be messengers of God’s mercy in this so wounded and secular world. We have experienced here that we are already on a common path in the federation, without having already completed the formal federation structure. It’s our intention as leadership to invite everyone to take part on this journey.
