News
Sending out on mission...
PGC - Highlights of the day – n#8 – Wednesday, December 10, 2025
Roma
This last morning of council is devoted to the formal vote on the decisions prepared during the week, to an evaluation by the participants, and to the scheduling of the next PGC.
In addition to validating the economic decisions, which were mainly prepared at the beginning of the PGC, we finalized the list of the first apostolic appointments and gave our approval for the opening of five new communities. This is a great source of joy and hope. The communities are:
- PARÁ DE MINAS (a Brazilian municipality in the state of Minas Gerais), to take charge of a parish (of 13 Christian communities) with a particular focus on youth ministry and vocations.
One of the churches in the parish
- THE HAGUE (Netherlands), to take charge of the French-speaking parish of All Saints, serving mainly expatriates, with an important dimension of youth and family ministry. In addition, it will also provide services in the surrounding Dutch-speaking parishes.
- VINH (in north-central Vietnam), for the pastoral care of health, which has been entrusted to our brothers for several years now, and youth ministry. A second community in addition to the one in charge of the parish of Phan Thôn.
- KIMBONDO (suburb of Kinshasa – DRC), to welcome brothers in secular studies, serve in the parish and in surrounding schools, and strengthen the Vicariate's self-financing.
- MUHILA (in a rural area near Butembo), for pastoral care of workers, secondary education, parish pastoral care, and self-financing.
The PGC ended with a “send-off” from the Superior General, from which here are a few excerpts:
"... Go and continue to be sowers of the future for your Provinces, for our Congregation. The major components of the mysticism that must accompany our actions fueled our discussions during these 10 days of PGC and they correspond exactly to those proposed by Alphonse Quenum in his little book “The Mysticism of the Sower.” We need foresight, generosity, action, openness, etc.
...The large number of young people in formation in the Congregation today is good news. But the challenges are also numerous. We recently read in Vatican News that the Pope was concerned about the effects of Artificial Intelligence on the freedom and spirituality of young people. This was also one of the themes of the last meeting of the Union of Superiors General (USG): How can we accompany young people today who are in formation and made vulnerable by this context?
We have talked a lot about investment and sustainability. Perhaps, then, we need the four elements highlighted in the synodal process initiated by the Province of Europe in accompanying the Vicariates towards the status of Vice-Provinces: a path that must be taken together, with a method and allowing ourselves to be guided...
Finally, I would like to repeat this prayer that I love very much during ordinary time: ‘Lord, you who are the source of all good, help us to discern what is right and good, and give us the wisdom and strength to accomplish it’.”
Finally, the date has been set for our next PGC from June 1 to 10, 2026, in Romania!
Fr. Benoît Bigard