The four-stage journey of the Provinces, Regions and Missions (PRM) of Europe, proposed in 2017, began on August 26, 2020 and it will go on until the 29thof August 2020 a strongly desired option of the General Chapter of 2015. This meeting would have taken place in Copenhagen, if the drastic effect of the Covid19 pandemic had not forced the participants to be in front of their own computer. The technology itself seemed to cause anxiety: the lack of practical knowledge for some in using the Zoom and spending several hours in front of a monitor. However, the work was well prepared by the General Coordination team along with Sr. Sally Hodgdon, Sr. Mariaelena Aceti and the facilitator of the meeting, Sr. Maria Pilar Benavente (Piluca), from the Congregation of the Missionaries of Our Lady of Africa.
That first day was intense, but not tiring due to the various intervals, albeit short ones, which marked moments of listening and sharing. The participants, in fact, were invited to share their wishes and expectations for the meeting of these days, and to present a poster, prepared in the previous months, which, with an image and a verse from Sacred Scripture, could describe the answer to the question: "What is the real reason or why do we want a new network, or governance structure, for Europe? What would this new network add to the life and mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph today"?
Elements for a new European network
In addition to sharing the previous questions, there was also a time given to share the situation of each Provinces, Regions and Missions and what was their experience of the lockdown; a very intense moment. Then we moved on to group work. The meetings of the mixed language groups were held in virtual rooms. We tried to get the first elements that are considered important for the creation of a new European network through this meeting.
The session ended at 6:30 pm with a very appealing prayer service with the words of the Canon of Taizé, Sisters Eliane Santana and Maria Inês Ramos, missionaries in Mozambique who said: "Don't worry, let nothing scare you, God alone suffices”. Hoping to have good news from them soon.
Sr. Rosalba Scaturro
