From January 9-11, the general councils of the Assumption Family held their regular meeting in Paris which occurs every eighteen months. The congregations represented include the Religious Sisters of the Assumption, the Augustinians of the Assumption, the Oblates of the Assumption, the Little Sisters of the Assumption, and the Orants of the Assumption.

Each meeting consists of three parts: a sharing of major news of each institute, a discussion of a topic of common spirituality, and planning and evaluation of common projects. The principal news item for four of the congregations (all but the Religious Sisters of the Assumption) dealt with the preparation for general chapters which will be held in the spring and summer of 2017.

For the last three meetings of the general councils, participants addressed the three vows as the theme of common spirituality. Each congregation presented the founders/foundresses’  thinking on the theme and how it developed over history. Finally, a document is produced that can be used for the formation of young people or for the continuing education of religious in the various institutes.

 CONVERSATIONS AT THE CENTER: Encountering Immigrants as our Siblings in Christ - pdf file

Sunday, January 8, 2017, the first “graduates” of the newly inaugurated novitiate in Brazil made their first vows in the presence of their religious and natural families as well as many other guests, including many sisters from the Assumption Family. Br. Jefferson de Oliveira Marques, Brazilian, and Br. Jonathan Esteban Ruiz Rivera, Chilean, completed their year’s formation in Espirito Santo do Pinhal, some 3 hours west of São Paulo. The novitiate is located in the former high school seminary established by Dutch Assumptionists in the 1950s.

For many years the South American novitiate was located in Chile. In a renewed effort at collaboration among Assumptionists working in South America it was decided to refound a common novitiate in Brazil in 2016 and a common house of theology in Buenos Aires, Argentina the same year.

Br. Jefferson will soon be moving to Buenos Aires where he will begin his theological studies while Br. Jonathan will return to Chile to complete his studies at the Universidad católica de Chile. Upon completion he will pursue a licentiate degree in canon law in Buenos Aires.

- What were your expectations prior to attending the Provincial Chapter?

- I didn’t really have any expectations prior to the chapter.  I imagined it as a kind of retreat with meetings.  Other than that, I wasn’t sure.  I figured I would just be flexible and “go with the flow”---I could do that!  I couldn’t imagine how we would fill our days, let alone the evenings.  I wasn’t sure if I could survive without a television.

- What were some of your actual experiences of the chapter as a Lay Assumptionist?

- Where do I begin talking about such an amazing, fulfilling experience?  In trying to describe it to non-religious and to my family, I had two analogies:  it was like a retreat on steroids.  Also, it reminded me (as a former educational administrator) of a week-long professional development experience during which time our focus was to write new curriculum or revise existing curricula.