25 April 2013 – Italian Liberation Day
No report was sent for Wednesday, 24 April.
On 25th, Thursday, we sent you the Newsletter from the SMA International website (Media Centre in Lyon). This Newsletter is devoted essentially to the General Assembly which is in its 16th day. The highlight of the day was the adoption in plenary session of the text on the challenges and priorities for formation, spirituality & lifestyle, finance and administration. These preliminary texts will serve as basis for the development of the Action Plan (AP) for the next six years. Discussions on the AP began this morning.
Let us leave an instant via della Nocetta to let you know that today Italy celebrates its liberation by the Americans. On this occasion, the Italian Provincial Superior, Father Lionnelo Melchiori, offered a bouquet of flowers to the USA Provincial Superior, Father Mike Moran as a sign of gratitude. It was a public holiday in Italy, in the whole territory of the Republic, except at 111 Via della Nocetta where the General Assembly delegates worked the whole day and were satisfied with a coffee break.
Italy has elected its President a few days ago, and finally they have chosen a prime minister to form a new government, but Pope Francis remains the most popular man in Italy. In Rome, the new Pope, friend of the poor, attracts pilgrims, curious simple people who find in him the image of the true pastor. A confrere who was at St. Peter’s Square said that he met a man who told him, “This is the first time I meet a Pope who speaks simple language that I can understand”
On this day when we celebrate the feast of St. Mark the Evangelist, it was an opportunity for Father Nelson Adjei-Bediako, Superior of Gulf of Guinea District-in-formation (GGDF) to remind us of the importance of humility to serve the Lord, the desire to participate in the construction and development of Christian communities. St. Mark, the disciple of Peter, cousin of Barnabas, Paul’s companion and founder of the Church of Alexandria is for us the example of dedicated missionary who does not hesitate to take every opportunity to proclaim the Good News.