It happens only once every six years, when members of all of the Viatorian provinces, delegations and foundations gather for an international meeting of solidarity.
This year’s General Assembly opened Nov. 29 in Madrid, when Superior General Rev. Alain Ambeault, CSV, declared the meeting open.
Fr. Alain Ambeault, CSV, superior general
“The objective of our work in the days ahead is to dare – yes, to dare,” said Fr. Ambeault, “to discover points of consensus that reflect both the reality that is ours, and the common hope that motivates us.”
With nearly 40 representatives in attendance, representing Viatorian communities in Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, Colombia, France, Haiti, Honduras, the Ivory Coast, Japan, Peru, Spain, the United States and six translators, the weeklong series of meetings and planning sessions began.
“Previous assemblies — in Rome in 2006 and in Bogotá in 2011 — have opened the way for us to make this new crossroads of Viatorians into a precious occasion for reflection and orientation,” Fr. Ambeault said. “I am convinced that our attentive listening and sharing, guided by a profound respect for one another, will engage us more deeply in a faithfulness that is not afraid to re-visit its foundations in order to become even more creative.”
Fr. Ambeault added that he hopes to build consensus for the development of the international community.
“That community will be enriched by the diversity of the entities that compose it,” he says, “but (we) cannot do without a strong unity and a clear vision of (our) future. All of that is what we are called upon to express in the form of consensus.”