GENERAL ADMINISTRATION
GENERAL HOUSE - Reserved for General ChapterFather Gilberto Piñon, Superior of the General House, announces that the ability of the Oblate community at via Aurelia 290 to offer hospitality will be somewhat limited in 2010 because of the General Chapter.
Consequently, the General House and the Guest House (Foresteria) are reserved between August 15 and October 31, 2010, for Oblates whose presence in Rome will be directly related to the General Chapter, either as Capitulars or auxiliary personnel.
If Oblates coming for the Chapter should have personal guests, the staff of the General House will offer suggestions as to where they might stay, but there will not be space available for them at the General House itself. The contact e-mail address is
pinon@omigen.org or
guestmaster@omigen.org.
The De Mazenod Experience in Spanish began on September 7 and concluded on November 24. The animators were Fr. Frank SANTUCCI and Fr. Hugo OLIVA from the Cuba Mission. Helping them in the animation of the experience were Fr. Diego Sáez from the Ukrainian Delegation and Fr. Eutimio GONZALEZ from Spain.
There were 10 Oblate participants: 3 from Mexico: Daniel Gagnon, Enrique Peña and Octavio Rosales; 2 from Paraguay: Rossalino Thompsom and Carlos María Barreto; 2 from Argentina-Chile: Manuel Pérez and Santiago Rebordinos; from Brazil: Paulo Ehle; from Uruguay: Jorge Albergatti; and from Venezuela: José Manuel Cicuéndez. It was a good representation of the Oblate mission in Latin America. For one and all, it was an intense time of renewal in the charism and an opportunity to know better the places where the Congregation was born.
The month-long Ignatian Exercises at the Oblate house at Notre Dame de Lumières were an important component of the experience, a graced moment for renewing our Oblate vocation and our identification with Christ. We shared these Exercises with a Missionary Oblate Sister from Spain, Sister Patricia, who participated in the retreat with us in preparation for her perpetual oblation. In that way, we were able to discover a “feminine view” of our charism.
There were also other important moments: the visit of Fr. General, Guillermo STECKLING, who spoke to us about the Congregation and the next Chapter and also responded to our concerns; also, there was a visit by Fr. Oswald FIRTH, Assistant General for the Mission, who helped us reflect upon the Oblate Mission today.
We thank the community at Aix and at the International De Mazenod Center for the wonderful welcome they showed us during our whole time there. All of the participants in this experience will remember it as an important moment in our Oblate life. (P. José Manuel Cicuéndez)
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