News
Life in our Provinces...
PGC - Highlight of the day n.3 - Wednesday, December 3, 2025
Roma
On this Wednesday, we continue our work in a smaller configuration: the members of the Ordinary General Council, the leaders of the seven (Vice-)Provinces, and the three Territorial Vicars. Throughout the day, we take the time to listen to news about life in our Provinces since the last PGC. This is already an opportunity for some mutual reflection on certain delicate situations. Recent events, animation sessions, the steps taken by our many brothers in formation, visits received, the lay-religious alliance, and ongoing projects are the main topics of these exchanges. Overall, these discussions give rise to thanksgiving, but we also note some recurring difficulties related to the situation of some of our brothers, the insecurity in Kivu and elsewhere, or the sometimes difficult relations with some Bishops due to financial issues...
The afternoon was devoted more specifically to news from the three vicariates and to the request of the last General Chapter in N# 81: “The Province of Europe, by delegating more and more decision-making, continues to accompany the Vicariates of West Africa and Asia-Oceania towards greater autonomy so that they can be established as Vice-Provinces so that they can be established as Vice-Provinces over the next six years and participate as Vice-Provinces in the next General Chapter.
The Province of Europe therefore first set up a coordination team for each of the vicariates under the leadership of Fr. André Antoni and undertook a synodal process that requires four elements:
• a path, respecting the stages: evaluation and foresight
• together, working for unity in diversity
• a method, defined by the provincial chapter and implemented by the coordination team
• and guides, with the general and provincial superiors and their councils making the final decisions
The work is therefore currently at the stage of evaluating the vicariates, using a precise grid and both collective and individual contributions. Then will come the time for synthesis and presentation to the Provincial Council. It is therefore at the PGC next June, after gathering the fruits of this synodal journey and the opinions of the provincial authorities, that the Plenary General Council will be able to give the green light to continue the process according to the schedule set by the General Chapter, or to propose another schedule, allowing a little more time to make the transition to Vice-Provinces.
Finally, Father Vincent Kambere, head of the Kinshasa Vicariate which has not yet reached this stage, shared with us a lot of good news: the Ngaliema real estate project is progressing well; the opening of a community in Kimbondo will be submitted to the PGC in the coming days; the canonical visit of the Superior General and his assistant during the local chapters bore good fruit...
Most of the territorial entities of the congregation can certainly identify with these words of thanks from Fr. Kambere: "It is time for the Vicariate of Kinshasa to give thanks to God, who crowns with success the efforts of those he sends into his vineyard for his service. Thank you to the Congregation, which never tires of providing the Vicariate with its accompaniment and support in terms of formation, animation, structures, new establishments... all with a view to establishing a well-established mission in the western part of the Democratic Republic of Congo."
Fr. Benoît Bigard