CHRONICLE OF THE GC24

(18 February - 20 April 1996)

1. OPENING SESSION OF THE CHAPTER

18 February 1996 saw the 208 members of the GC24 arriving at the Generalate from all parts of the world to begin the General Chapter on the following day.

At 10,00 a.m. on the 19th there was the opening ceremony. The morning had begun with a concelebrated Mass of the Holy Spirit, at which the Vicar General, Fr Juan Vecchi, presided.

After the official declaration by Fr Antonio Martinelli of the opening of the Chapter, the message of Pope John Paul was read. After a moving tribute to the late lamented Fr Egidio Viganò, the Holy Father went on to say that the collaboration between Salesians and laity should aim at the formation of 'educative communities', in which personal talents were shared for the good of all.

The Pope's message was followed by an address by Cardinal Eduardo Martinez Somalo, Prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of consecrated life and Societies of apostolic life. Then came brief messages of good wishes from representatives of other groups of the Salesian Family and the opening address of the Vicar General.

Present at the opening session, in addition to Cardinal Somalo, were the Salesian Cardinals Rosalio Castillo Lara, Alfonso Stickler, Antonio Maria Javierre Ortas, together with Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone and Bishops Vincenzo Savio and Jesús Júarez Párraga.

2. THE BEGINNING -- A WEEK OF SPIRITUAL RETREAT

At 4.30 p.m. in the afternoon of the same day, began the retreat, preached by Fr Guido Gatti, professor of moral theology at the UPS. The theme of the meditations was taken from Don Bosco's "dream of the diamonds" which took place on the night of 10-11 September 1881, while the Salesians were making their retreat at San Benigno Canavese.

The clear and sometimes humorous presentation of Fr Gatti helped the capitulars to reflect on the physiognomy of the Congregation "qualis esse debet", according to Don Bosco's dream. Fidelity to Don Bosco, faith, hope, charity, pastoral charity, fraternal charity lived in the salesian community, work and temperance, were presented as the ingredients for making the Congregation flourish and for disclosing the Salesian qualis esse debet in the mind of Don Bosco.

The climate of prayer and recollection, the solemn community celebrations, the liturgical functions well prepared and enriched by hymns in different languages, created immediately the proper spiritual context for a Chapter, and the familiar tone of the 'Good Nights' of Fr Vecchi at the close of each day completed the setting.

The testimony of one of the capitulars well sums up the atmosphere immediately created in the Chapter: "I have seen Don Bosco praying in the chapel, walking in the corridors, and alive in every meeting... I have seen Don Bosco in every confrere, priest or brother, young or old, white or black, superior or subordinate, all united in a single mind and heart in Don Bosco".

The Retreat ended at lunch on 23 February, when thanks were expressed to Fr Gatti, amongst the usual popular songs.

3. THE REPORT OF THE VICAR GENERAL

In the afternoon of 23 February in some 90 minutes, Fr Vecchi gave the capitulars an account of the state of the Congregation. Presenting the volume of 306 pages entitled "The Society of St Francis de Sales in the period 1990-1995", to which was added a second volume of "Statistics", Fr Vecchi did not read the entire Report but dwelt only on certain pages considered more significant: those dealing with future prospects and motives for hope.

The Report was in four parts: the first presented "The Congregation in its various regions"; the second offered an evaluation at world level of "The Congregation in its various sectors of animation"; the third provided information on the functioning of "Some services and institutions of general interest"; and the fourth was "An attempt at an overall evaluation", and was the most exacting.

It was especially on this fourth part that the Vicar General dwelt at some length, on an understanding of what had been done during the past six-year period and the situation at its end, on the significance of our presence, on the witness of consecrated life, on the preparation of the confreres, and on the challenges and reasons for hope.

An applause of approval followed the reading of the Report, and the Moderator thanked Fr Vecchi for his synthesis and the indications he had given. It was a report, said Fr Martinelli, that needed study and would remain an authoritative point of reference which the capitulars would need to use.

After a day of personal study of the Report, the capitulars sent in their requests for clarifications and further information on certain points: there were 103 in all. At 9.00 a.m. on 27 February in the assembly Fr Vecchi began to respond to the questions he had received. There were many of them, just half the total number of capitulars, and he explained that rather than reply to the questions individually he would take them in nine blocks into which he had grouped them: evaluation of the context, reception of the GC23, clarifications about government, economy and administration, significance and pastoral presence, formation, and the Salesian Family.

After three sessions of the assembly, totalling 4 hours and 30 minutes, dedicated to the responses of the Vicar General, Fr Vecchi stressed the expediency of a further study of the Report in language groups. Of these 13 were set up, each of them with the purpose of selecting three important points, of general interest and with reference to the Congregation in a worldwide perspective. The various circles (3 English, 2 French, 1 German, 3 Italian, 1 Portuguese, 3 Spanish) dedicated a working session of 28 February to a deeper study of the Report.

The results of the work of the linguistic circles was examined finally by a small group of 6 capitulars who, with Fr Vecchi, summed up in four points the elements emerging: formation, salesian community, significance, animation/government. A further session was given over to the presentation of these perspectives. 'Significance' had an absolute majority of the preferences. Confreres want to understand the new role to be played by the community in the open perspective of the new situations, the new missionary and educative opportunities, and the new relationships with the laity

4. THE LAUNCHING OF THE CHAPTER MACHINE

With the examination of the Report of the Vicar General behind it, the Chapter went on to complete its own organization.

By a large majority the assembly approved as a basis for discussion of the Chapter theme the "working document", put together by the Precapitular Commission and illustrated with convincing enthusiasm in the afternoon of 27 February by Fr Luigi Zuppini, Superior of the Vice-province of Madagascar.

On 28 February were elected the three chairmen to complete the Presidency of the capitular assembly. From a list of eight names proposed by Fr Vecchi, the assembly chose Fr Richard Authier, Superior of the Vice-province of Canada, who was subsequently replaced by Fr Stjepan Bolkovac, Provincial of Croatia; Bro. Lucio Reghellin, delegate of the Piedmont Circumscription of Italy; and Fr Helvecio Baruffi, Provincial of Porto Alegre, Brazil. The three thus elected joined the Vicar General and the Moderator (Fr Antonio Martinelli) in the presidency.

The same day saw also the unanimous approval of the Regulations of the GC24, presented by Fr Francesco Maraccani. Few were the modifications of importance made to the Regulations of the GC23.

On 1 March the organizational stage came to an end with the approval of the calendar of the various phases of the GC24. In particular ratification was given to the week in which certain lay people would participate in the Chapter (Cooperators, Past-pupils, DBV, 'Damas Salesianas', young people, collaborators and others). For obvious reasons the dates for this had to be fixed well in advance by the Moderator

For the election of the Rector Major, the Vicar General, and the members of the General Council the dates were approved, and also the manner of election suggested by the Council, which involved a discernment process, i.e. 'a process of spiritual research, through reflection, prayer and mutual enlightenment' in a series of stages leading to a mature personal decision on chosen names. The process was to be accompanied by a person external to the Congregation and an expert in discernment, Fr José M.Arnáiz, Vicar General of the Marianists.

5. THE CHAPTER GOES ON INTERNET

An innovation of this Chapter was without any doubt the silent but efficacious use of electronic mail.

Communication with the various provinces (fostered also by the use of fax), information on various stages of the Chapter's work, curiosities, interviews, news items, were plentiful on the Internet, permitting some confreres to inform and others all over the world to be informed, and all very rapidly. By this means the modern explorers have set up direct communication between the provinces and the GC24.

A handbook provided for the capitulars, with all sorts of useful information, revealed that 58 provincial houses are already using E-mail, with 70 other houses or offices and a further 45 confreres.

A general use of the possibilities of the telematic network can make possible the exchange of 'family' news, which is frequently ignored by the normal media.

6. THE WORKING COMMISSIONS

In this phase in which the method of working is being defined, another point to be attended to was the constitution of the commissions foreseen by the Chapter Regulations.

It was decided on 1 March, that there should be seven commissions in addition to the commission for information. Six commissions were to examine the working document: the first would work on the situation, the second the frame of reference, the third the practical commitments of the community, the fourth the criteria for the selection of lay collaborators and those sharing responsibility with us, the fifth open problems concerning the animating nucleus and salesian identity of our works, and the sixth the remainder of the open problems (femininization, male presence, consecration and education, volunteers and their situation afterwards, the friends of Don Bosco). The seventh commission had the task of studying proposals regarding the Constitutions and General Regulations, and other problems related to the central government.

Once the commissions were set up, each of them elected its own president, spokesman and secretary. In this way the Central Coordinating Commission was completed; it is made up of the President of the Chapter, the Moderator, the three Chairmen, and seven members elected by the assembly, who proved to be the presidents of the commissions

7. FROM CAPITULAR TO BISHOP

After only 13 days of the Chapter came the official news that the Pope had appointed Fr José Angel Divassón, a capitular of 57 years of age, Vicar Apostolic of Puerto Ayacucho in Venezuela. The news was given by Fr Vecchi simultaneously with the announcement by the Vatican Press Office and took the assembly by surprise. They greeted the new Bishop with loud applause, and he in turn thanked the capitulars as they offered their personal congratulations. As Provincial of Venezuela, Fr Divassón had taken part in the Synod on consecrated life, being invited by the Pope is his capacity as President of the Venezuelan Union of Religious. The new bishop left his place in the Chapter and was succeeded as delegate of Venezuela by Fr Johnny Reyes.

A chalice 'neither lavish nor second-rate' was offered by Fr Vecchi to the newly-appointed Bishop in the name of the capitular assembly as a sign of good wishes. It bore the inscription in Spanish: "The General Chapter to Fr J.A.Divassón, 2 March 1996". The new bishop expressed his thanks and his joy at having been at the Chapter. He spoke of his Vicariate, which is completely salesian with 30 confreres and a Cathedral dedicated to Mary Help of Christians. There are also 60 Sisters at the service of an indigenous population with 19 ethnic groups. The people are very poor, he explained, with some of them living in primitive conditions and some of the ethnic groups disappearing altogether. A great deal of work is needed in their service and in their defence, as the fight goes on to preserve their culture.

8. A COMMUNITY EXPERIENCE

With the general formalities completed the Commissions were able to enter fully into the examination of the basic document, in the light of the results of the provincial chapters and the experiences of the capitulars themselves, exchanged in the commissions and groups.

For three weeks intense work went on in the commissions, with periodic returns to the assembly to report progress and seek guidance, as various parts of the theme were dealt with. This led to some lively discussions in the assembly for the settling of some central points and the structure and essential lines of each part of the document.

The work of commissions, groups, assemblies, regional and other meetings filled the typical day of the capitulars without break of continuity. There were four working periods each day, two in the morning (9.00-10.30 and 11.00-12.30) and two in the afternoon (3.30-5.00 and 5.30-7.00).

But the element underlying and emphasizing the intense work was the experience of salesian community. The 208 capitulars, coming from the various parts of the world, succeeded in constituting a real salesian community, not a typical one but a community nonetheless. They did it in record time and more successfully that in past Chapters. One noted the success of the efforts at integration and living together which overcame language barriers. Meals were a good occasion for getting to know each other and exchanging ideas.

Festive occasions, especially birthdays and feastdays, were frequently solemnized by the addition of ice-cream. There were also places where groups could gather to watch TV from all over the world (thanks to the parabolic antenna) so that no one felt isolated. The group for the animation of the communal life of the Chapter had foreseen possibilities for relaxation and fellowship in the after-supper periods, organized by various groups of provinces. Some evenings were reserved for cultural events: outstanding among these were the presentation of "Don Bosco en son temps" by its author Fr Desramaut, and of the "Circular Letters" of Fr Egidio Viganò.

Great importance was given to moments of prayer. Each morning the celebration usually took place in language groups; each evening all gathered together for Vespers and the 'Good Night' which created an atmosphere for information and family communion. Once a week (usually on Wednesdays) there was a common eucharistic celebration, always well prepared by the group for liturgical animation. To preside at these communal celebrations were invited: Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone (6 March), Cardinal Alfons Stickler (13 March), Cardinal Rosalio Castillo Lara (19 March), Cardinal Eduardo Pironio (28 March), Cardinal Antonio M.Javierre (10 April), Archbishop Francisco Javier Errazuriz, Secretary of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (13 April), and the Local Ordinary, Bishop Antonio Buoncristiani of the Diocese of Porto and Santa Rufina (18 April).

After lunch each day there were sporting encounters in both football and basketball. Some went for a stroll along the roads around the Pisana. The less active played table-tennis.

The fellowship of the community was evident in the touches of humour and the jokes that found their way into 'Good Nights', assembly discussions, and the reading of minutes. All the capitulars, together with Fr Vecchi, expressed the hope that the expression of communion and unity that was created would not be something fleeting but would continue to be widely diffused after the Chapter was over.

An atmosphere-creating moment looked forward to with pleasure was that of the 'Good Night' itself. In the first week Fr Vecchi himself spoke of the life and problems of the Congregation. Then each evening after Vespers came the Provincials or representatives of the provinces to present the history, activities, projects and difficulties of their own circumscription. The result was a most interesting panorama, vast and articulate. Particularly interesting were the accounts of some particular situations: the circumscription of the East and the salesian foundation at Yakutsk in Siberia, the presence in the Antilles and particularly in Cuba, the situation in Polynesia and Timor, and the difficult work in Vietnam and China.

A particularly significant and family event took place on the morning of 15 March. The capitulars made a pilgrimage of prayer and meditation to the Catacomb of St Callistus, on the Appian Way, where they visited the tomb of Fr Egidio Viganò. They went in procession, pausing at three 'stations'. The first was "martyrdom" (where was read a text by Fr Viganò on the Blessed Martyrs Luigi Versiglia and Callistus Caravario); Fr Viganò as a salesian guide (with the reading of an extract from his obituary letter, and the singing of 'Giù dai colli' while the capitulars went down to pray at the tomb of the dead Rector Major); and the resurrection (in the church of St Tarcisius with a bible-reading and prayers for the GC24 that it may follow the way of renewal animated by the seventh successor of Don Bosco).

9. THE PHASES OF THE WORK

The work of the six commissions, presented by their respective spokesmen, led to discussion in the assembly in which many spoke and always to the point. The area of collaboration between Salesians and lay people turned out to be both vast and variegated in experiences which had matured in the different continents and cultures. The discussions covered the vast range of lay collaborators (from teachers, to believers of other religions, to people of good will), and also the convergence on criteria, on identity and on professional requirements. With an eye to the future, the need was also considered for providing new processes of formation.

Dozens of interventions in the assembly and some heated exchanges in the commissions made it abundantly clear that the collaboration between Salesians and laity in the service of the mission had brought us face to face with new problems. Not by chance many of the interventions echoed the request coming from all over the Congregation for urgent guidelines to enable salesian communities to dialogue with the laity, with women in particular, to become inserted in the dynamics of the neighbourhood, and to deal authoritatively with public entities. Formation cannot be thought of any longer in separation: laity and Salesians must learn how to face up together to the new situations.

The lay people too are called to take steps on their own side. It is not only salesian communities that have to do some rethinking. There are many lay collaborators, but not all of them prove to be as sufficiently prepared and formed to the extent needed by the vast nature of the mission.

Meanwhile the capitulars are aware that the communities are waiting for something from them by way of guidance. They are waiting quietly, it is said, because everyone is aware that the theme of collaboration with the laity is a vital and demanding one; and at the same time they know that if it is the task of the Chapter to provide indications, it will be up to the communities to find the way to put it all into effect.

The Chapter's work was facilitated by large-scale use of computers.

10. THE SEVENTH COMMISSION ARRIVES

While the first six commissions and the assembly were working away on the specific theme of the Chapter (Salesians and laity: communion and sharing in the spirit and mission of Don Bosco), the seventh commission was examining the observations and proposals received from the provincial chapters and confreres concerning our own proper law (Constitutions and Regulations) and on some aspects of the structure of animation and government of the Congregation.

On 7 March, Frs Zuppini and Maraccani, president and spokesman respectively of the 7th commission, presented to the assembly a first scheme of work on some aspects of the central government, and in particular on the Department of the Salesian Family and of Social Communication. It was the first of a long series of presentations.

After a long discussion in the assembly and a number of straw votes, the decision was finally made to make no modifications to art.135 and 137 of the Constitutions, in which the two sectors constitute two Departments animated by a single General Councillor. After a negative vote on the present arrangement (one Councillor for both) at the straw vote stage, the majority finally preferred the certain to the uncertain. The importance and urgency of social communication was endorsed, but effectively the question was referred back to the overall verification of the functioning of the structures of government entrusted by the GC24 to the new General Council.

Another scheme presented by the 7th commission concerned the rearrangement of the groups of provinces. This gave rise to a lively and sometimes anguished discussion on the organizational changes called for by the new political structures brought about, for instance, by the breakdown of boundaries, the vitality of Project Africa, the development of the European Union, or the prospects of integration of the two Americas. Salesian world geography was modified by a vote in the assembly on 28 March, which set up the African Region. The provinces of Canada and the USA will be joined to the former Pacific-Caribbean Region. The Atlantic Region will also include Chile, in addition to the provinces of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Australia becomes linked with Asia. Great Britain and Ireland join Northern Europe with Holland, North Belgium, Austria, Hungary, the Balkans, Poland and the Circumscription of the East. France will be linked with South Belgium, Spain and Portugal. The Region of Italy and the Middle East remains unchanged.

Approved by a large majority was a practical guideline which entrusted to the Rector Major with his Council an accurate study, with the assistance of experts, of the functioning of the General Council.

Awareness of the acceleration of history led to the approval of a limitation of the period of office of members of the General Council in the same capacity (C 142). The Chapter decided that Councillors could be reelected for only one further period in the same office. An analogous proposal for the office of the Rector Major was rejected by a single vote.

The 7th commission was back again in the last week of the Chapter. In the morning of 16 April the assembly approved a guideline and a modification to art.3 of the General Regulations. The guideline, passed on by the GC24 to the Rector Major and his Council, concerned the study to be made of the possibility of a 'mixed' form of the Salesian Congregation in the light of the Apostolic Exhortation "Vita consecrata". The modification to the Regulation referred to the presence of girls in our works.

11. ELECTION OF THE RECTOR MAJOR

After the Chapter had been in progress for about a month came the important period of the elections.

In the afternoon of 18 March began the process of discernment, guided by Fr José Arnaiz, who indicated four necessary conditions: prayer (prayer of intercession of purification, of illumination, of thanksgiving), talk and dialogue with others in sincerity; the seeking of criteria in the assembly without discussion; and especially personal reflection on three points: get to know today's challenges for the Congregation as it approaches the third millennium; seek to define the profile of the person best able to guide us in responding to the challenges; apply the profile to identify specific persons who are available.

At 10.25 on 20 March the Moderator, Fr Martinelli, announced the beginning of the voting for the election of the Rector Major. The voting sheets were distributed and the capitulars called by name to place their voting papers in the urn.

At 11 o'clock, on the first scrutiny, the 8th successor of Don Bosco was elected in the person of Fr Juan Edmundo Vecchi, who was greeted with prolonged applause by the capitulars. In accordance with the Regulations, since the one elected was also president of the Assembly, the Moderator called the oldest member of the Chapter to proclaim the result. Fr Ernest Macak, Provincial of Slovakia, 76 years of age and at his first General Chapter, a former prisoner under the communists, was accompanied to the presidency table where he put the ritual question to Fr Vecchi as to whether he accepted his election. Fr Vecchi replied "I accept" and immediately a group of Indian confreres went up to offer him a magnificent garland of white flowers. They were followed by all the capitulars who proceeded one after another to greet the new Rector Major, under the eyes of continuously flashing cameras..

At 12.15 in the main church of the Generalate a solemn "Te Deum" was sung in thanksgiving, an appropriate prayer of the faithful was said for the newly elected Rector Major, and Fr Vecchi gave his first address as the successor of Don Bosco.

Festivities began during lunch with songs and toasts. In the evening of 23 March there was an evening of homage to the new Rector Major, with the participation of spontaneous groups of the Salesian Family and of the formation communities of Rome.

12. ELECTION OF THE GENERAL COUNCILLORS

The collaborators of the Rector Major, i.e. the members of the General Council, were elected using the same method of discernment guided by Fr Arnaiz.

In the morning of 21 March the assembly began which introduced the discernment for the election of the Vicar General. A first request was for an indication of the qualities required in the person for this office. The result showed that the main quality needed was "complementarity with the Rector Major". In the afternoon the election of Fr Luc Van Looy took place on the first ballot.

In the first assembly on 22 March the results of the discernment for the other Councillors were given, and in the second assembly at 11 o'clock the first vote for the Councillor for Formation confirmed Fr Giuseppe Nicolussi in office.

For the Department of Youth Pastoral Work there was a further period of discernment to clarify the indications which had emerged. Then in the afternoon the Councillor General for Youth Pastoral Work was elected, again on the first ballot, Fr Antonio Doménech.

Next followed the elections for the Councillors General for the Salesian Family/Social Communications and for the Missions. The former Councillors, Frs Antonio Martinelli and Luciano Odorico, were confirmed in each case.

In the morning of 23 March the assembly gathered again for the election of the Economer General. After the clarification of some uncertainties, Fr Giovanni Mazzali was elected, also on the first vote.

At this point the boys' band of the Salesian Institute in Naples entered the assembly playing their instruments, almost as though putting a seal on the ending of the first part of the elections.

In the afternoon of 1 April, after the audience with the Holy Father, Fr Arnaiz took up once again the process of discernment for the election of the Regional Councillors. The groups of the various Regions met together for a straw vote, the results of which were made known to the assembly before supper.

The following morning were elected (all on the first ballot in each case) the Regionals for Africa (Fr Antonio Rodriguez), Latin America/Southern Cone (Fr Helvecio Baruffi), Asia-Australia (Fr Joaquim D'Souza) and for North Europe (Fr Albert Van Hecke).

Since Fr Antonio Rodriguez, the former Councillor for Spain and Portugal, had been elected Regional for Africa, a further discernment was necessary for the Regional for Western Europe. Then in the afternoon of the same day were elected the Regionals for Western Europe (Fr Filiberto Rodriguez), the Inter-America Region (Fr Pascual Chavez), and Italy/Middle East (Fr Giovanni Fedrigotti).

In this last series of voting something unforeseen occurred. For the first time the Chapter elected a member of the General Council from outside the Chapter itself. Fr Chavez, Provincial of Mexico-Guadalajara, was completing his doctoral thesis at Madrid-Salamanca, when the Rector Major telephoned him to tell him of his election.

12. THE LAY PEOPLE IN THE GC24

For the first time in a Salesian General Chapter the doors were opened to the laity. Twenty-one persons from every continent, men and women, young and old, were cordially welcomed and given equal speaking rights in commissions and the assembly. They included Cooperators, Past-pupils, Don Bosco Volunteers and other groups of the Salesian Family, young people, collaborators and others. It was a kind of general test of what will become in time a collaboration between SDBs and laity in the communities and widely differing salesian works around the world.

The objective of this summit, previously unknown in the Congregation's history, was the future of the salesian mission: the quality of the salesian presence and the strength of involvement will depend to a great extent on the capacity for exchange between Salesians and laity in the Salesian Family. And the Rector Major, who welcomed them to the assembly on the morning of 25 March, emphasized with convincing and not merely formal words the new fact of a lay participation in a General Chapter.

The lay representatives came from all over the salesian world. There were 13 Europeans (4 Italian, 3 Spanish, 2 British, 1 Portuguese, 1 Austrian, 1 Czech, 1 French), 6 from the Americas (USA, Venezuela, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Argentina) and 2 from Australia. There were 6 women and 15 men; 6 were young people and the rest adults.

In turns, throughout the week, the lay people presented a synthesis of the contributions submitted to the Chapter by their own particular group. The applause which greeted each of their declarations in the assembly placed the seal on the warmth of their welcome by the capitulars.

The week of the laity concluded with the reading of a "Message to the laity of the Salesian Family", drawn up by the 21 lay participants.

The Rector Major, thanking them for the contributions they had made to the work, presented each of them with a medal of Don Bosco. This, he said, was not to mark their leave-taking, but rather that they were being sent by the General Chapter to the lay area in general and to the salesian communities.

14. THE AUDIENCE WITH THE POPE

Pope John Paul II received the members of the Chapter in audience in the morning of Monday, 1 April.

The capitulars left in good time for St Peter's in four coaches, and first went to pray at St Peter's tomb. They then went by way of the bronze doors to the Clementine Hall where they met the Pope. After a short period of waiting, the Pope arrived and was greeted with thunderous applause.

The audience began with an address of homage to the Holy Father read by Fr Vecchi.

The Pope, replying, emphasized "the secret of courageous and fruitful apostolic activity: unreserved adherence to the Crucified and Risen Christ". The Holy Father also endorsed the compelling task which characterizes the mission of the Salesians: "Help the laity to form themselves as educators".

After his talk, the Pope greeted the Chapter members individually, shaking hands with them one by one as Fr Vecchi indicated their province of origin.

15. THE PAUSE FOR EASTER

The advanced stage of the elaboration and discussion of the documents of the six commissions, the election of the Rector Major and Councillors, the sharing with the laity, and the audience with the Holy Father had brought the Chapter to Easter.

Of particular significance for the entire capitular community was to find themselves together on Holy Thursday to concelebrate the Eucharist "in Coena Domini". The Rector Major, elected a few days earlier, presided and underlined the sense of the celebration.

In the following days of the Easter Triduum the Chapter observed a pause in its work. A big number headed north to spend Easter at Turin and Colle Don Bosco, at the invitation of the Provincial of the Piedmont Circumscription. Various capitulars who remained at Rome were able to participate in the ceremonies of Holy Week and Easter in union with the Holy Father at the sacred places in Rome.

16. DRAFTING AND APPROVAL OF THE FINAL DOCUMENT

On 4 April the Moderator informed the assembly of the setting up of a "drafting group" made up of four capitulars, for the purpose of drafting a unified text which would then be submitted once again to the assembly.

The task of this "drafting group" was not that of entering into the merits of the contents, but of producing a readable and practical document, easily understood and without the characteristics of an apostolic exhortation; it was to be a working instrument for the communities. All the definitive texts drawn up by the commissions and discussed in the assembly were handed over to the drafting-group.

On 13 April the group itself presented to the assembly a suggested form for the final document. The Assembly decided by a majority vote that the document should recall in an introduction the date 12 April 1846, the day when Don Bosco arrived with his boys at Valdocco.

In the final week of the Chapter, the three parts of the re-drafted text were presented by the drafting-group (after some intense work) for a vote in which "iuxta modum" voting was possible. This led to a further discussion between the Commissions, the Assembly and the drafting-group. The document was examined personally and in groups by the capitulars and many "modi" were submitted. This implied some further difficult work, especially in connection with the statement of the deliberations and practical guidelines for the guidance of the communities.

On 19 and 20 April the voting took place for the final approval of the document. The individual parts and numbers were first approved separately by vote. It was very satisfying to see that there was always a convergence much greater than the majority required. Finally the entire document was approved as a whole and received with prolonged applause.

17. GREETINGS AND MESSAGES

The Chapter had almost reached its end. It was the time for sending greetings and messages as an expression of fraternity and encouragement.

It was decided to send messages to the following groups: young persons, Cooperators, Past-pupils of Don Bosco, Don Bosco Volunteers, all of whom had sent us messages of good will at the opening of the Chapter. For the text of the messages, the Moderator had asked various members to prepare a first draft, which was then given to all the capitulars for their comments and suggestions. These were then incorporated in a second draft which was submitted once again to the assembly and approved.

18. CONCLUSION OF THE GC24

On Friday evening, 19 April, the Main Hall was the scene for an entertainment with all the capitulars present. Songs and presentations by the various Regions, together with ironic references to certain moments during the Chapter, set the seal on an unforgettable experience of salesian life.

Then on the following day, Saturday 20 April, came the official conclusion. In the morning, meeting together in assembly for the last time, the capitulars fulfilled the final requirements of the Chapter Regulations. Then, after the reading and approval of the final minutes, the Rector Major gave his closing address.

The eucharistic celebration, in which was renewed also our entrustment to Mary Help of Christians, represented the final act of the GC24 and was at the same time the "sending" of each capitular as an envoy to transmit to the confreres and to the pastoral and educative communities the experience and message of the Chapter