New General Council of the LCM elected

July 23. Today’s morning prayer was led by Chile. We were helped to meditate on our falls and our capacity to rebuild our lives in the light of God. The prayer was aided with images from last year’s Chile’s earthquake. After morning prayer and breakfast greeting messages were read and then we proceeded to read yesterday’s minutes and their approval.

The morning activity had as its objective to draw out issues of interest for the Assembly from the regions and groups that manifested their particular concerns which had not yet been identified in the work sessions. The participants are asked to present such proposals or issues that could later be discussed in groups. Seven topics were identified which were worked on next.

The second part of the morning session was dedicated to the election of the rest of the General Council. After invoking the Holy Spirit the Assembly proceeded to elect the post of Formation Secretary. In the first vote and by absolute majority Magda Araujo (Colombia) was elected, and she accepted the election. Next was the election of the Economo. In the first vote and by absolute majority Patricia Arancibia (Chile) was elected. Since she was not present in the Assembly an effort was made to try to contact her to confirm her acceptance. Her confirmation was left open until she can give an answer to her election. Finally, the vote for Guide was taken. In the first vote and by absolute majority a member of the Claretian Missionaries General Government was elected. This responsibility will rest for now on Paul Smith, CMF, who has already been fulfilling this role. Since he is present in Assembly he accepts the election. The whole election process was done in an environment of respect and prayer.

In the afternoon we left for the Basilica of Our Lady of Aparecida. After a guide tour of the Shrine we celebrated mass in the main chapel of the basilica. The mass was transmitted through the Shrine’s television channel and all of the Claretian Missionaries present in the Assembly concelebrated.

The evening entertainment was prepared by Brazil. They presented the Claretian mission in Mozambique and we enjoyed theater, music and traditional local delicacies.