It is 22 January 2023, Paris is welcoming us with intense cold, but at 140 Rue du Bac there is warmth and light. Twenty Visitatrixes from all over the world, designated from 2020 onwards, have been gathered by the Superioress General for a formation meeting.
They are from the Provinces of Cameroon, Congo, Madagascar, Nigeria, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (USA), Amazonia, Belo Horizonte, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Cali, Mexico, Peru, Indonesia, Graz-Central Europe, Espana Centro, Ireland, San Vincenzo-Italia, Portugal, Slovakia and the Region of Albania. This is the international melody of this Company whose charism is embodied in so many faces, in so many languages and in every corner of the world.
There could be no better slogan for the meeting: “All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other languages, as the Spirit gave them ability” (Acts 2:4). This is how Sister Antonia González and Sister Alicia Margarita Cortés, General Councillors who are coordinating this meeting, greeted us.
Sister Françoise PETIT, Superioress General with her message at the beginning of this week raised our expectations: we have come here to deepen the mission that the Company has entrusted to us. The General Council and the Director General are accompanying us and are in charge of giving us formation, enriched by a series of testimonies that challenge us and invite us to share the life of our Provinces, all framed by beautiful liturgical celebrations.
After a day of prayer and contemplation, another intense week awaited us. We brought with us what we marveled at in Notre Dame de Chartres where St. Louise consecrated the Little Company: the height of its spires and the depth of its interior will help us to advance in the trust in God and in the courage that this office requires and rely on the support of the Superiors General and the prayers of the Sisters of our beloved Provinces. We thank God for this experience!
