As Mary did

On the 13th and 14th January, as has been the usual case recently, a meeting took place at Manziana for the General Councils of the four Marist branches.
This annual meeting is one of fraternal sharing about the year that has just passed. On this occasion, there was also the coincidence that the four Institutes had celebrated meetings similar to our General Conference, each with its distinct style according to the tradition of each branch. It was a rich sharing and all the participants were encouraged by the valiant choices of each one of the Institutes, always striving to be faithful to their mission and to inspire more vitality in their members.

The Marist Sisters held their congregational meeting in Mexico in early February 2005, centred mainly on the theme ?Reconfiguration for life and mission?. From the start of February 2006, the congregation will move from having Provinces to being organised in three regions: Asia-Pacific, Atlantic and Europe-Africa. Each region will have a major Superior and the regions will be subdivided into sectors.

The Marist Missionary Sisters celebrated their extended General Council meeting in Senegal during April 2005 for two weeks. During this time, they discussed the main topics of life and mission and decided to create new projects: one against human trafficking in San Diego (United States of America) and a new mission in English-speaking Africa.

The Marist Fathers met in Mexico at the start of May to celebrate its Society Council. The main themes that were treated included: renewal, restructuring, formation and mission. On the 8th December, Father Jan Hulshof, Superior General, published a circular concerning what was discussed and decided in Mexico. It is an invitation to live ?with a more lively confidence?, as proposed by the title of the circular, whose subtitle specifies the contents: ?The Society of Mary and its Renewal in Spirit and Body?.