The General House during the coronavirus

Many in the Marist world are asking themselves how the Brothers are coping in the General House today, in these times of COVID-19… All locked up in the house? All in quarantine?

We can respond to these two questions, but with a certain amount of specificity… given that, if we were not in the midst of the health crisis caused by the coronavirus, we would be living practically in the same way. Obviously, life is not the same, because we take some precautions, mainly “social distance”. We are more cautious if someone has some symptoms of fever. Well, like everyone, we know that in this situation, personal sensitivity, biophysical control of one’s health, and when the symptoms are accentuated, “you feel” and “notice” small changes in a period … that during normal time are not perceived.

That said, every three days we usually hold a meeting to see how the situation is evolving, to adapt to the evolution of the decisions taken by the government and to provide guidance and possible responses. In the meantime, all employees have been in quarantine since 11 March and are working from home, so the second floor is virtually empty. Only the cleaning staff comes to work, with a controlled schedule. On the other hand, the coordinator of all the activities, Luca Piagnerelli, and the administrative manager, Giovanni Sebastio, are in the house with us, from Monday to Saturday.

All the brothers of the Community are here, with the exception of Brother Carlos Alberto Rojas, who travelled to Brazil a few days before the lockdown. The whole community of the General Council is also present, and likewise, Brother Canisio Willrich, Superior of the District of Asia, and Brother Juan Miguel Anaya, consultant of Canon Law for the General Administration of the Province of Mediterránea, both stayed with us after the meeting of the Provincials.

In other words, we are living in a “suspended time”, with all possible activities. There is much work to be done and it has not been interrupted in any way.

The Brothers responsible for the different Secretariats and Departments are in constant contact with the situations for which they are responsible. In spite of the trips which were cancelled, the commitment is permanent, with the reorganization of courses and meetings scheduled and postponed. The General Council is in constant contact with all the activities of the Institute.

A lot of work is done through video-conferences. Finding the right time for these meetings is one of the technical challenges. It is not easy to “bring together” people from diametrically opposed continents.

There has also been a notable increase in manual work. An active group of brothers from the community spend their afternoons and sometimes their mornings cleaning the parts of our General House. And you can see the cleanliness, the new look of the whole environment. And often, after work, the little house in the woods is the community’s place for “delicious” relaxation.

It is worth mentioning, besides all this, that Brother Teofilo Minga was hospitalized for a lung operation. Everything went well and in a few days he will return to the community.

So, is everything all right? Everything is fine, although we cannot say for how long. And perhaps this is the new great challenge to which we are all called: we are not sure, but we have Providence. And this is why we are given a privileged time which is Holy Week, which we entered on Palm Sunday.

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H. Antonio Sancamillo – Superior of the General Administration Community