In the Constitutions of the Institute of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary (RSHM), the General Chapter is defined as “an ecclesial event and a visible sign of our unity. In this collegial assembly, which, when in session, is the highest internal authority of the Institute, we reflect on our life and mission in the Church and make decisions with a view to greater fidelity to our apostolic vocation. The General Chapter sets goals and establishes priorities for the Institute” (#55).
In the same sense, Cardinal Piróneo spoke to us in 1968, widening the understanding of a General Chapter and stressing its importance and impact on the life of the Church: “A General Chapter is not a mere study meeting, a superficial encounter or a transitory review of life. A General Chapter is no longer a private event of a religious group. It is an event that has repercussions in the Church, through the places and people with whom we share mission and spirituality.”
For all those who are currently hearing about this event and its importance in the mission of the RSHM, of which many are a part, it’s worth recalling a few brief “flashes” of the General Chapters in which I took part and which I experienced with great interest.
The General Chapters of the RSCM have never been disconnected from contemporary ecclesial and social contexts. In this sense, from my own experience, it is worth going back to the General Chapter of 1968, which coincided with the great challenges and the great hopes and dreams in the life of the Institute at that time. The fresh winds of the Second Vatican Council were stirring up the Church and, within it, the religious congregations, to which the Council paid particular attention with the famous document “Perfectae Caritatis”: “Institutes should promote among their members an adequate knowledge of the social conditions of the times they live in and of the needs of the Church. In such a way, judging current events wisely in the light of faith and burning with apostolic zeal, they may be able to assist men more effectively.”
The RSHM, presided over at the time by the Superior General, Sr. Margarida Maria Gonçalves, welcomed the mandate, and its response was the historic General Chapter of 1968 – a long Chapter (2 and a half months in 2 sessions), which involved a lot of preparation at all levels on the part of the entire Institute: many surveys, commissions, evaluations, studies, etc. This Chapter resulted in a vast document with recommendations and Guidelines which, once submitted to the Holy See for approval, were taken up by the whole Institute as a journey to be followed in fidelity to the Spirit.
I remember this General Chapter, with many ecclesial formalities and structures typical of the time, which have since been simplified in their processes, opting for new methodologies but always safeguarding, of course, the canonical norms. Other Chapters followed, with the regularity provided for in the Constitutions, always imbued with the desire to deepen the spirit of the Institute, update the charism and challenge the Mission, with a clear understanding of the practice of justice wherever the RSHM presence was, in the institutional or informal, academic or pastoral milieu, whatever the place.
The 1975 General Chapter was decisive with regard to the “CALL TO JUSTICE”. It became clear that there was an urgent need to strengthen and increase the collaboration of the laity in a cause that the RSHM was so committed to, and which became so clear with the ratification of the Mission Statement at the 1990 Chapter:
“The challenge of the gospel and the spirit of faith and zeal, which marked our founders, Jean Gailhac and Mère St. Jean, and our Founding Sisters, urge us to respond to the needs of our time and to work with others in action for evangelical justice. Sent to promote the life and dignity of all our sisters and brothers, at this time we place ourselves and our resources at the service of those who are most in need of justice, enabling the powerless, the deprived, the marginalized, the voiceless to work effectively for their own development and liberation.”
Going through the succession of Chapters in recent decades and re-reading their history, I can’t help but recognize the Institute’s attention to the changing world, seeking to broaden its vision in the context of globalization, committing itself to solidarity and a growing awareness of the interconnectedness of all creation, increasingly challenged to deepen the charism of the Institute that generates hope and life for all.
From all the RSHM General Chapters, the boldest orientations have always emerged, involving and committing all those who, according to their place in the Institute, are part of its mission and committed to its projects, in the light of the Chapter documents.
This has clearly been the course set by the Spirit who has presided over the RSHM General Chapters, with the experience and realism of each time. The new realities of the RSHM, weakened in Europe by the ageing and decline of its members, but with a flourishing and promising new face in other countries, are an invitation to all those who, attuned to the RSHM mission, wish to continue it anywhere in the world, and can say in this Jubilee Year of the Church and RSHM General Chapter: “I am a pilgrim of hope”. Pope Francis invites us to this: “to be a pilgrim means to set out every day, to always begin again, to rediscover enthusiasm and strength and to go through the various stages of the journey which, despite the fatigue and difficulties, always open up before us new horizons and unknown panoramas”.
This is what being a pilgrim is all about: walking and stumbling over shadows and stones along the way, but also hoping and believing that “hope is a light in the night”. Papa Francisco.
To talk about General Chapters and my experience of life through them is to recall the historical journey of a time that renewed the Institute, made it immerse itself in the essentials of its spirit and calls it, today as yesterday, to prophetic hope, to a journey together, risking the new, “SO THAT ALL MAY HAVE LIFE”.
Maria Lúcia Brandão, RSCM
