austraLasia #1763
EAO - overview 2007, and events to come
ROME: 16th February 2007 -- While numbers are never the sum total of
human existence, they are at least interesting and at the same time offer
possibilities for interpretation. Herewith some facts and figures from
EAO 2006, as we march firmly into 2007.
The overall picture: figures are for 31st December
2006 (as against the same date 2005) and are based on the official
'Flash' of the Congregation - 1317, inclusive of 60 novices across the
region in 2006 (1319 in '05). A full breakdown of that number comes to 9
bishops, 741 priests, 201 brothers, 323 'clerics', 60 novices. Of the nine
provinces in EAO, 3 have recorded an increase (CIN, KOR, VIE) and 1 (FIN) has
remained steady. The largest province in the region now is VIE with 256 - that
number includes 31 novices. FIN is next, numerically speaking, with 227, which
includes 1 novice. Of the 35 losses in the course of 2006, 6 of these are due
to death. 19 were of temporary vows.
Missionary movement makes an interesting figure: 10 have
received their mandate for other regions, and 6 have come in from other
regions. There are currently 38 students from EAO (philosophy, theology,
but also post grad), studying outside of the region, in Italy, Israel, Portugal
and Brazil. ITM sends some of its students to these two latter countries,
given the language.
The EAO region within the Congregation makes another
interesting figure: there are 8 regions worldwide (9 if you were to include UPS
or even 10 if you were to also bring in RMG which is not technically a region
but a rather special circumscription). Of those main 8 regions properly
so-called, 5 are in decline in numerical terms - the two making up the Americas
are down by 99 and the three making up Europe-Middle East down by 207. Three
are steady or have increased - EAO as already mentioned, South Asia and
Africa-Madagascar. South Asia now makes up 15.24% of the Congregation (14.96 in
2005), while Africa now makes up 7.87% of the Congregation (7.14% in
'05). The thing to note here is that in terms of novices, South Asia has
153 or 31.1% of all the novices in the Congregation, while Africa has 89 or
18.1%. Interamerica and EAO are the next two most healthy in terms of
novices, 75 and 60 respectively, or 15.2% and 12.2% of the total number of
novices in the Congregation. Italy has begun to show a slight increase in
numbers of novices annually.
In terms of total numbers in the Congregation there are
16,385 (as against 15,990 in 2005), representing 66.6% who are priests, 13.3%
brothers and 17.3% seminarians. If we add in novices we bring the total figure
to 16,385.
Amongst the inspirations for this year we have the
missionary focus on Sudan (material should have already arrived in the
provinces), the Strenna 2007 (being guided by God's love for life) - the DVD
has already arrived, the new Letter of the Rector Major on the EAO Region
(possibly not yet arrived!): 'You are the salt, you are the light for the
world', and the important regional encounter just concluded of all provincials
and provincial economers in Melbourne earlier this month as well as other
events in process or in the near future: FIS Extraordinary Visitation
(happening now), visit to Vietnam by the Rector Major (April), EAO Rectors'
seminar, Thailand (August), EAO Formation delegates' meeting (Oct). Don't
forget 2008 events coming up either: GC26 (Feb-April), ACS Regional Congress
Macao (May), WYD Sydney (July), Bishops Synod on the Word of God, Rome (Oct),
EAO Salesian historians Symposium (Nov). Plenty to think about!
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