Rome (Italy). From 3 to 21 November 2022 in Rome, at the General House of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, the “Formation meeting: for an economy that generates life” for the new Provincial Economers was held.
The choice to call it a ‘Formative Meeting’ as Sr. Ena Bolaños, the General Councilor for Administration explained at the beginning, is because “it is not a course where we will learn new things, eventually obtaining recognition for our successes. It is not a ‘congress’ where we listen to great presentations that enrich us theoretically. Instead, we desire and sincerely hope that it will be a simple ‘formative meeting’, to enrich us in our mission in the light of the journey we are making as an Institute, following the Acts of GC XXIV and the Programming for the six-year term. … In our mission as ‘Economer’ we want to be generative of life, to be mothers who promote, care, take life into their own hands. And we do it with ‘Mary, the presence that generates life'”.
With this in mind, 19 FMA from different countries and continents, guided by Sr. Ena and the collaborators of the Administration Sector, studied numerous aspects of the various areas of work within their competence.
The document “Guidelines for the Management of Goods in the FMA Institute” was the red thread that guided the days.
Over the weeks, in addition to the sisters of the Sector, various experts took turns, and topics were explored in depth, including: charismatic sources, Canon Law and Church documents, accounting and personnel management, sustainable development and the platform collaborative, documentation and the archive.
Also present were Mother, Sr. Chiara Cazzuola, and General Councilors at the headquarters; the Rector Major Emeritus of the Salesians of Don Bosco, Fr. Pascual Chavez; Br. Jean Paul Muller, SDB Economer General; Sr. Alessandra Smerilli, FMA, Secretary of the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development.
A day was dedicated to the in-depth study of the Chapter resolution on the assumption of the objectives of Laudato Si’, with the support of the leaders of “Fratello Sole”, a non-profit consortium company that deals with sustainability for Entities.
A reflection was started with the participants on the profile of the provincial Economer and on the organizational chart of the provincial administrative team, work that will continue in the coming months with the involvement of all the provincial Economers.
There was no shortage of recreational and cultural moments, such as the visit to the Basilica of the Sacred Heart with the adjoining rooms of Don Bosco and the Angelus of Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square.
At the end of the meeting, a group of Economers had the opportunity to visit the Salesian places, a pilgrimage which, in the year of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the FMA Institute, was lived with a deep sense of gratitude towards the numerous sisters who left Piedmont, courageously crossing oceans and continents, to give life to the expansion of the Institute.
The meeting was lived in an atmosphere of familiarity and serenity, in sharing and in the awareness that, as Sr. Ena recalled, “only living in ongoing formation helps us to keep the ‘mystery’ throughout our lives, with vigilant love,” a love of which we are bearers for the good of the young, of the Church, and of humanity. This gives meaning to our mission as Economer and leads us to be generative of life”.
