News of the General Chapter

On behalf of the General Council, Sr Brigitte presented a global vision of our Institute, with its lights and shadows.

An initial look at our diminishing numbers (we are now 385) invited us to reflect biblically on ‘the little remnant’ and its trust in God who promises it a future. The Samaritan woman at the well, in her dialogue with Jesus, also continues to be our companion and helps us to keep our eyes on the One who gives us living water to share with the thirsty of today.

We were then invited to become aware of the great diversity of Provinces, Vice Provinces and Districts in the countries where we are present. The challenges faced by ageing Provinces and those that are younger and growing, the challenges faced by communities present in a historically Christian context and those present in a Muslim or Buddhist context, etc. were discussed. The responses given over the last 6 years have had many positive aspects, but they also call for a lucid look at certain necessary developments.

In our many diversities, we can rejoice in the general growth of the consciousness that unites us: our Barré identity, that of our roots, of the specific mission that is ours and of the spirituality that nourishes it. It's a constantly evolving process, but one that can only retain its vitality if it remains faithful to the intuition that gave birth to it. This will require sisters to take the time and the necessary means to acquire sufficient knowledge of the texts of our origins and their context, with a view to a transmission that is both faithful and creative. This is essential if we are to discern together the calls to which God is inviting us to respond today. There are many of them: where and why should we set our priorities?

We have more officially opened our doors to lay people who wish to share our mission and our spirituality, and we have listened to their journeys, their wishes and their questions. Today, one of the tasks of the chapter will be to clarify and provide guidelines so that we can move forward united in our diversity, so that we can travel together, aware and happy about our different but complementary vocations.

In conclusion, St Brigitte invited us to be ready to welcome God's unexpectedness, which can exceed our expectations. With our frailties, our poor means, may we do all we can together not to bury in the ground the gift that has been entrusted to us to quench, however little, the thirsts of our world.