News
Interdependence, solidarity, subsidiarity, transversality...
PGC - Highlight of the day n#4 - Thursday, December 4, 2025
Roma
“These are the values that the Chapter wishes to promote at the heart of our community organization: interdependence, solidarity, subsidiarity, transversality...” GC 2025 No. 87
To implement these values, which were reiterated by our last General Chapter, we first continued to share news from the Provinces, starting with Brazil and North America.
Five postulants from our new foundation in Benguela (Angola) have been admitted to the novitiate in Brazil. They are currently completing the administrative procedures (passports and visas). Among the many joyful celebrations of recent months, Fr. Marcos Antonio highlights the festivities in November 2025 marking 90 years of our presence in Brazil!
In North America, a working group has been set up to discuss the future of our community in El Paso. With the Trump administration's new immigration policy, the migrant welcome center has had to close its doors. However, this mission to migrants was one of the main motivations for opening this community. Should we maintain our presence in this place? In a different form? Or start afresh elsewhere? These are some of the questions on the agenda of this working group. In Canada, on December 28, the congregation will enter the jubilee year of the centenary of our presence in Quebec City. Looking to the future, this centenary will give rise to several initiatives throughout the coming year.
In N#86 of the last General Chapter, we read: " The positive experience of the PGC encourages us to strengthen and develop its role. To this end, it is necessary to better discern the priority apostolic missions and the human, financial, and support resources to be allocated to them, to establish a regular evaluation of interprovincial collaborations (works, new foundations, joint projects), and to continue to prepare together and validate the opening and closing of a community. ..." It was in this spirit that we took the time to reflect on the different countries where we have only one community. The aim was to examine this situation, identify any weaknesses it might entail, and suggest possible courses of action (at the provincial level, through interprovincial collaborations, in the PGC) to remedy any weaknesses identified. This was only the first step in this ongoing project... It is certainly worth noting that of the 33 countries where we are present, 15 countries have only one Assumptionist community!
During the afternoon, as usual, we focused on evaluating two mobilizing works: the University of the Assumption in Congo (UAC) and Assumption University (Worcester, MA). With 1,000 students at the Butembo campus and 300 at the Beni campus, UAC is developing well and the quality of its teaching is recognized in the region. Obviously, there are economic challenges, but isn't that the case for all universities around the world?
As for Assumption University, after a few smaller graduating classes (around 350), last fall saw the arrival of 550 new students, which is a very encouraging number for the future. It is worth noting a new program, “The Center for Civic Friendship,” which has attracted new donors and many students. “This program seeks to develop civil discourse in an Augustinian idea of friendship where disagreements can make conversation more productive.”... A wonderful program for a PGC!
Fr. Benoît Bigard