In response to the mandate of the last General Chapter (2023), the Formation Secretariat is promoting the first ongoing formation course for formators of the various stages of formation: novitiate, theology, specialization. The course will be held in Rome from 2 to 17 September 2024. A second course is planned for September 2028.
By Jaime C. Patias *
The course is taking place at the Generalate in Rome; 13 are the formators taking part in the course, from Africa, America and Europe.
The Formation Secretariat includes Father Mathews Odhiambo Owuor, General Councillor, and Fathers Antonio Rovelli and Ernesto Viscardi who coordinate the work.
Father Mathews Odhiambo, presenting the program of the course, thanked the formators for their work on behalf of the General Council, and outlined the aim of the course: “to take a break from ordinary activities, to be together, to share and carry out the update”.
Motivations behind the course
After the introduction, Father Mathews highlighted the motivations for the implementation of the course as required by the Acts of the XIV General Chapter: “a global reflection on our formation that involves all missionaries” (XIV GC 42); “in collaboration with the Circumscriptions’ Councils, to identify and prepare an adequate number of missionaries for the service of basic formation” (XIV GC 45); “to offer all formators an adequate preparation especially in the area of the charism” (XIV GC 46) and furthermore, to give continuity to the “Immersion in the Charism” course as “an integral part of the new vision of formation and care of the missionary” (XIV GC 32).
The topics proposed in the program refer to relevant situations highlighted by the recent General Chapter: “tendencies towards individualism, materialism and relativism; addictions, affectivity issues, money; identity crisis with the Institute; emotional tiredness; spiritual aridity; the presence of different formation approaches and the decline of vocations”.
Taking these considerations into account, some themes have been formulated that will be covered during the course: the formator and his own care; the charism and the person of Blessed Allamano within formation; psychology and formation today; the formator a witness; formation planning and evaluation, and a global reflection on the present formation in the Institute.
The adopted methodology will be based on group work with appropriate dynamics followed by sharing in plenary meetings, to reach clear proposals and pathways for the future.
The formators involvement is fundamental in this course, not just simple auditors, but protagonists in exploring and deliberating on the topics covered by the course.
The formators will also carry out some services required by the program, such as: liturgical animation, communication, group work animation, and editing the resulting material of the course that will be collected in a booklet.
On the first day of activity, each formator presented his own formation community and the context in which it is inserted, giving a wealth of information.
Father Pedro Louro, the General Secretary, presented and explained how to use a digital database of all the documents of the Institute that he created, focusing specifically on the formation documents.
Accompaniment and care of the missionary
According to the last General Chapter, the accompaniment and care of missionaries is one of the main commitments of the Institute today. In this sense, the General Council has planned a six-year period of ongoing formation initiatives: two courses for formators (present year and in September 2028), courses for jubilees (25 and 50 years of ordination or perpetual profession), reflection on formation (May 2024 – May 2026); Year of Community Life (March 2026 – March 2027) and Year of Brothers (May 2027 – May 2028). Other initiatives will be carried out at the continental and circumscription levels.
Statistics
At present the Institute has 355 seminarians, of these 133 are professed theology students (CAF Buenos Aires in Argentina 7, San Paolo Seminary in Brazil 20, CAF Bogotá 6, CAF Medellin in Colombia 7, Bravetta Seminary 26, CAF Turin 5, CAF Porta Pia in Italy 11, Nairobi Seminary in Kenya 34, Merrivale Seminary in South Africa 12, and Abijan Seminary in Ivory Coast 5).
There are 30 novices (1 in Manaus in Brazil, 12 in Morogoro in Tanzania, and 17 in Sagana in Kenya).
There are 150 philosophy seminarians (Kenya 57, Tanzania 47, DR Congo 13, Ethiopia 13, Mozambique 10, Colombia 7, Brazil 1, Mexico 1).
In the propaedeutic centres there are 42 young people (Kenya 23, DR Congo 9, Mozambique 8, Ethiopia 2).
In the coming days we will continue to keep you updated on the various activities of the course. We would kindly ask everyone to remember us in prayer so that the course may be profitable for the participants, and may achieve the objectives set.
We entrust the course to our Blessed Founder, soon to be Saint, “Father and Teacher of missionaries”, so that he may become a model for those who have been “chosen” for the formation service to the Institute.
* Father Jaime C. Patias, IMC, Communication Secretariat
