The horizon of our life is always Jesus of Nazareth. This is, as the Ratio Formationis reminds us, our formational goal: to share in his sentiments. Formation means conforming to the lifestyle of the Holy Gospel, the authentic way to holiness.
The next General Chapter will be a welcome opportunity to offer the whole Order a glimpse that captures, as accurately as possible, the state of health of our charism. We are in the midst of a dynamic and complex process which begun in December 2019, when the Ratio Formationis was approved. The aim is to update and bring new inspiration to our formation models with the desire to be more faithful to our charism in the Church, and more capable of responding to the challenges that today’s culture poses to our way of life.
In this context, the General Minister has asked the General Secretariat for Formation and the International Formation Council to carry out two specific tasks: a study on the impact of the Ratio Formationis in all circumscriptions and a reflection on the state of fidelity and perseverance in our Order during this sexennium.
For this purpose, the International Formation Council prepared a questionnaire sent to the whole Order with a series of questions that require a careful reading of the Ratio in order to answer them adequately (Cf. letter of October 12, 2023, Prot. N. 00690/23); and a second questionnaire addressed only to the major superiors with the sole purpose of gathering accurate and up-to-date information on the entries and departures of the friars during the present sexennium.
Thanks to the network of formators that has been created in recent years, we know better the situation in which most of our formation houses find themselves. As you know, the General Secretariat animates and coordinates the International Formation Council, composed of a confrere from each conference of the Order who, in turn, animates and coordinates the formation directors in the various circumscriptions. The strengthening of this NETWORK has enabled us to improve the sharing of information and collaboration in formation among the different circumscriptions, to apply evaluation criteria, and, above all, to come out of our provincialism and strengthen our sense of belonging to the Order.
Obviously, it is not just about numbers and statistics, but about perceiving the intensity with which our charism is lived out, verifying the Order’s difficulties and strengths. We are looking for qualitative data that will allow us to understand trends (e.g., in the case of friars leaving the Order: when they occur, in which areas of the world, for what reasons, by whose decision, etc.). All of this will help us to better target formation models.
The results of both questionnaires, to facilitate an intersubjective reading, are studied in detail at the regional level: Africa, India, Asia (without India), Europe, the United States, Brazil and the Spanish-speaking circumscriptions of the Americas. This allows us to make interpretations that are more objective and attentive to cultural diversity.
Regarding formation in the Order, we are aware that it is not easy to begin the processes, but our first impressions are positive. We still have to make a great effort to finalize the Ratio Formationis Localis at the regional level, that is, the interpretation of our values that express unity when living out our charism amid cultural plurality. It will be an indispensable tool to consolidate collaborations at the formation level in the regions themselves.
We hope that the upcoming General Chapter will offer us all an opportunity to hear the whispering of the Holy Spirit who continues to guide our steps and enables us to walk as lesser brothers in the footsteps of Jesus, the Son of God, who out of love became our brother.
General Secretariat for Formation
Br. Charles Alphonse and Br. Jaime Rey
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