Report on the FMAs in 2014-2020

Report on the FMAs in 2014-2020

(ANS – Rome – September 24, 2021) – There are 226 pages in the Report on the life of the Institute in the 2014-2020 – in addition to the statistics dossier – that the Superior General of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, Mother Yvonne Reungoat recently presented to the for the Salesian Sisters’ 24th General Chapter, meeting at their Generalate in Rome. The Report is a picture of their congregation over the past 7 years. Vital elements that indicate their reach in the Church, their charism, and their universality are clearly present in this report.

The report, in fact, presents the guidelines for animation of the Mother General and the general council toward the growth and development of members and the educational communities made concrete through the perspectives of formation, youth ministry, foreign missions, communications, and Salesian Family and through the service provided by the central administration and the secretariat. From every perspective, “the methodology of the atelier” emerges as a backdrop, for the clarification of the processes initiated and indications on those to be strengthened in view of the future.

The Superior General not only highlighted the most significant constructive elements of the journey, keeping in mind the signs of the times, the reality of the educational communities, the challenges faced by the young, the indications of the Church, and the needs of society, but she also proposes new paths for the future based on three key words: formation, mission, and integral ecology.

“The primary and imperative responsibility is to give priority to formation in all its dimensions -especiall  in human, spiritual, charismatic, cultural, and professional elements,” she says. In fact, “formation is ‘the best investment,’ and it is necessary ‘not to sacrifice it’ to the ‘urgencies of the mission, losing sight of the wholistic perspective’; but this is possible only if ‘one is capable and convinced that the quality of life of the Institute depends on formation,’” she added.

A specific aspect of formation is “education in interculturality as a prophetic witness,” as an aspect that “is part of the identity and educational vocation of the Institute.” Furthermore, in a world that tends to exclude and create barriers, “intergenerationality can become a prophecy of a different way of living.” Success is possible “only starting on a journey together: FMAs and laity; this requires the design and construction of accompanying structures for the formation and management of the works by the laity.”

In a process of re-defining the communities in the light of the charism, Mother Reungoat underlines the importance “of guaranteeing continuity and development to the works in favor of the poorest and marginalized” in a process of continuous dynamic and creative updating.

She indicates, among other things, that the journey, in the Global Educational Perspective Pact proposed by Pope Francis, is a solicitation “to interact in the Salesian Family, with the other entities, institutions, and groups with whom we network.”

Another essential dimension “is that of integral ecology,” Mother Reungoat declares. In the broader perspective, she affirms that it is essential to “recover the dimension of the sobriety of life,” to be attentive to the cry of the earth and the poor. Finally, in an era of new evangelization, she underlines the “charismatic importance of the catechetical formation” of the FMAs as “a characteristic field of the mission of the Congregation in the Church, but which requires innovation and adaptation to the times and languages.”