The first-ever meeting of mission procurators of the Claretian Missionaries was held from 25th to 29th of January 2021. Although it was scheduled to take place in Rome, due to travel restrictions caused by the prevailing situation of the COVID-19, the meeting was facilitated using the online platform. All the mission procurators of the Major Organisms of the whole of Claretian world, together with some associate partners in mission, participated in these five days of encounter, each day spending around three hours together online starting at 13.00 hours at Rome. The General Mission Procurator, Rev. Fr. Lord Winner, CMF coordinated the online meeting in an efficient and a professional manner, planning in advance and meticulously taking into account of every detail possible, that made the encounter more alive, interactive and interesting. Each day’s three-hour session was divided into three major segments where different aspects pertaining to mission procure of the congregation were brought forward for study, reflection, discussion and proposal making. The sessions were guided by experts. Spanish and English were used as the medium of the forum while there were provisions for simultaneous translations.
On the first day’s introductory session Rev. Fr. Artur Teixeira, CMF, the General Prefect of Apostolate warmly welcomed all the participants to have a fruitful time in these days, where they come together to share, to learn, to coordinate with each other so that the mission of Jesus Christ will be carried out in the style of our beloved founder St. Anthony Mary Claret.
After the welcome message, each participant was given a chance to introduce himself or herself. Based on the continental categories, participants made their salutation. There were altogether 48 participants from ACLA, ASCLA EAST, ASCLA WEST, ECLA and MICLA Conferences. One main element of the day was the presentation of Fr. Lord Winner, CMF on the General Mission Procure (GMP). He highlighted the guiding principles on which the General mission procure functions.
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The second day’s highlights were the presentations done by Fr. Vincent Anesthasiar, CMF, the General Secretary of JPIC of the Congregation, and an interactive session conducted by Rev. Fr. Artur Teixeira, CMF. Fr. Vincent Anesthasiar, CMF made his reflection on the topic of ‘Human rights and Development work’, while Fr. Artur Teixeira’s interactive session was on evaluating the Claretian criteria for project management. This was done in view of presenting new proposals for the XXVI General Chapter.
The third day was dedicated to project management. Mr Thomas Gerhards, an independent consultant for project management from Germany presented his paper on the topic of ‘Changing scenarios of project management in religious congregations. The second exposition was done by Fr. Gabriel Ponce, CMF and Ms Ana Maria Estevez, from Proclade Betica (Fatima Procure), who explained the expectations regarding the project work funded by Claretian funding sources.
The fourth day was designed to reflect on various elements of disaster management and the preparedness of the Mission procures. Ms Giovanna Reda from the Good Shepherd International Foundation, Italy talked about ‘Disaster preparedness and disaster management’. Then Fr. Artur Teixeira, CMF made a presentation on the SOS Claretian Family Programme which was started in 2018 with the joint effort of Claretian Family to support the communities of the Claretian Family in times of such disasters. Afterwards, Mr Fernando Guzman spoke about the volunteers for Claretian mission from the International perspective.
On the last and final day, Rev. Fr. Rohan Dominic, CMF, representing Claretian from UN made his reflection on the topic of Social Work initiatives based on Sustainable Development Goals. Then, Fr. Lord Winner made a presentation on the practical guidelines for the Mission procures. He explained different practical elements related to mission procure.
Finally, Very Revered Father Mathew Vattamattam, CMF, Superior General, addressed the participants. He indicated the three processes of transformation viz a congregation going forth, a community of witnesses and messengers, men who adore God in the spirit. He further insisted that “We cannot be only social workers; we are also believers”. He also asserted the values of responsibility, accountability, transparency of mission procures in their work. With the apostolic prayer of St. Anthony Mary Claret, the meeting came to an end.
Reported by Fr. S.M. Stephen Satheesh, CMF
Mission Procurator, St. Joseph Vaz Delegation – Sri Lanka
