Last week, leadership from around the worldwide Viatorian Community gathered for an Extraordinary General Council (EGC) meeting in Rome that included the inauguration of our new community house.
Fr. Victor Camara, CSV, Vicar General, assists Fr. Nestor Fils-Aimé, CSV, Superior General, with the blessing of the house.
The celebration included a Liturgy of the Word, a reception, and a blessing of the house by Fr. Nestor Fils-Aimé, CSV, Superior General. Provincial and regional superiors, reconfiguration steering committee members, and neighbors and friends in Rome gathered to celebrate. Fr. Gerardo Soto, CSV, of Chile, General Councilor, lives at this Viatorian residence as local superior, and Viatorian students can live there during studies – right now including Fr. Macaire Sandouidi, CSV, of Burkina Faso, who is studying at Rome’s Pontifical Gregorian University and serving as postulator for the sainthood cause of the Venerable Louis Querbes.
The house includes several bedrooms, a nice chapel, and a courtyard with space for social gatherings, and will likely be renovated to add office space. After some time without a residence in Rome, this new house resumes a permanent Viatorian presence there.
EGC gathers provincial and regional superiors with the Superior General and the General Council. Left to right here is Br. Jean-Marc St. Jacques, CSV, Provincial Superior of Canada, Fr. Mark Francis, CSV, Provincial Superior of Chicago (US & Colombia), and Fr. Marcelo Lamas, CSV, Provincial Superior of Chile.
In addition to this celebration, the EGC had a significant agenda for its week of meetings. “The first three days dealt with the reconfiguration discussion, and the process will continue through the steering committee, which will carry forward the work from there,” Fr. Mark Francis, CSV, Provincial Superior, said. “Over the next six months, the whole congregation will be asked to reflect on questions raised in these meetings regarding different scenarios.”
The balance of the week covered a wide range of topics. The Superior General and his General Council consulted with provincial and regional superiors on a range of topics and reported decisions to share with the wider community:
- The Viatorian Community is exploring the establishment of a new foundation in Africa, with current discussions focused on Togo – the home country of four Viatorians in the Region of Burkina Faso – and Madagascar.
- The community is convening a congress of young religious, August 19-25, 2026, in Burkina Faso, and our province has been invited to send three American religious and four Colombian religious along with our Provincial Superior.
- The community will convene an Extraordinary General Chapter, November 29-December 8, 2026. The work of the General Council and reconfiguration steering committee will be reported there, and participates will deliberate on decisions. The US has been allotted two delegates, who American religious will elect in a special chapter of election this fall. Our Provincial Superior will participate, too, by way of office. This EGC will take place at the provincial house of the Company of Mary near Madrid, Spain.
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The General Council welcomed brothers in leadership for the meetings and celebration. Left to right, here is Fr. Fredy Contreras, CSV, of Colombia; Fr. Victor Camara, CSV, of Spain (serving in Honduras); Br. Darius Amani, CSV, of the Ivory Coast, Fr. Nestor Fils-Aimé, CSV, of Haiti; and Fr. Gerardo Soto, CSV, of Chile.
The General Council is establishing Viatorian Community committees to address a number of key areas: the community itself, peace and justice, ethics and norms with an emphasis on safeguarding children, international formation, education, and parish ministry, liturgy, and catechesis. The council will also explore establishing an office for international development.
- The formal pastoral visits by the General Council for 2026 include a visit to our Foundation of Colombia.
- The EGC discussed the need to rehabilitate the “berceau” (cradle), the headquarters of the Viatorian Community that date back to Fr. Querbes in Vourles, France, and affirmed the project. The General Council will initiate these improvements this year.
- General Councilor Br. Darius Amani, CSV, will be ordained to the priesthood in October in the Ivory Coast.