From February 23 to 27, at the “El Milagro” retreat house of the Bolivia-Peru province in Lima, the Formation Secretariat of the Conference of Latin America and the Caribbean, presided over by Fr. Joao Paulo Santos De Souza, provincial superior of Brasilia, met with representatives of the formation secretariats of each province:
Fr. Cícero Fabiano Medeiros Costa, Province of Brasilia; Fr. Samuel José Torres Tangua, Andean Caribbean Province; Fr. Ramón Gustavo Doldán, Pedro Donders Province; Fr. Faustino Calcina Ilave, Bolivia Peru province; Fr. Jorge Sampaio, Nossa Senhora Aparecida Province; Fr. José Manuel Bartres, Mother of Perpetual Help province; Fr. Dionatan Dutra, province of Curitiba.
The meeting was moderated by Fr. César Torres Pantoja, coordinator of our Conference. We reviewed documents that will serve as tools for guidance and support in formation: Ratio formationis, the formation program for formators, the Statutes of the Novitiate, the plan for the refresher course for confreres with up to 10 years of ministry, the Missiology Workshop, as well as the Brothers’ vocational guidance, reflections and proposals for a common theological framework, and we began a discernment process regarding adult vocations.
We had the virtual participation of Fr. Paulo Jr., a member of the general secretariat for formation, who presented the training of formators’ project, as well as the presentation of Fr. Rodolfo García, who explained the proposal for a missiology workshop for our trainees.
This was our first meeting, held in a very fraternal atmosphere, beginning each day with the celebration of the Eucharist. We shared experiences, concerns, and worries; but we also began to look forward with hope to this dimension of formation, which is so important for maintaining the pace of the restructuring processes we are experiencing in our beloved congregation.
We thank Fr. Gerardo Hernández, General Councilor, who encouraged this meeting and has supported us from afar with great interest. We also express our gratitude to the Bolivia-Peru Province for arranging everything necessary for our meeting.
Fr. Gustavo Doldán, CSsR.
Cieneguilla-Peru
