On Saturday 28 November 2020, the Missionaries celebrated the anniversary of the foundation. Here is the message of the superior general
Rome, November 28, 2020 – On Saturday 28 November 2020, the Scalabrinian Congregation celebrated the 133rd anniversary of its foundation. In his message for the occasion, titled: Creating a Vocational Culture, the Superior General Father Leonir Chiarello addressed his Scalabrinian confreres, recalling the main passages of a story that began in 1887, which also entails many stories.
“We know the great chapters – read the text – The sensitivity of a bishop guided by the Spirit, the urgency to respond to a great problem, the trust despite his modest beginnings. Then the crisis brought about due to a lack of confidence, the recovery because the flame had not gone out and the courage to expand: broaden the goal, broaden the boundaries of the mission, cast the net in other seas. A wonderful story, always to be told, with different voices.”
Joy, Testimony, and Courage
A story that is a vocation and that must not be interrupted: “There are too many migrants who continue to leave, those who are unable to arrive, those who remain alone, those who are only forced to work. We must cross our history with theirs, we must transform theirs and our history into a history of salvation.”
To acquire a vocational culture, Father Chiarello affirms, three steps are necessary: joy for one’s own vocation, witness as a journey (“The vocational journey does not end with profession. Profession is not attaining a status, belonging to a group, security in life. It is the beginning of a witness.”) and finally the courage in pastoral choices, so that these can correspond to the real needs of the mission (“It is not time to live on an income. These are choices that we must make as a group because only these will have continuity. Individual adventures are short-lived.”).
Telling the Scalabrinian People Through the Media
The last reminder is the importance of the story: “We have to talk about our Founder, talk about our history, allow those who want to know us to know the reason for our choice. Modern means of communication offer many possibilities to the creativity of those who want to tell. (…) It is a question of continuing to tell our stories and our history, to pick up the thread of the story of those who preceded us and of those who walk with us because it is beautiful to narrate the wonders of the Lord.”