CONVOCATION OF THE 2005 GENERAL CONGREGATION

According to Constitution 285, “Two years before the General Chapter, the Prior General, with the consent of his Council, shall convoke a General Congregation to discuss matters of common interest to the whole Order”. During Session 146 of the General Council, held on 24^th September, I obtained the consent of the Council for the formal convocation of the General Congregation.

With this letter I hereby convoke the General Congregation of 2005. It will take place in the Centro Pastoral, Santa Fé, Sao Paulo, Brazil, from 5^th(arrivals) - 15^th September (departures) 2005. The theme for this meeting will be:

SERVING THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD IN AN ERA OF CHANGE

What the Order must do today
in order to be capable of transmitting the charism tomorrow

According to Constitution 286: “§1. The members of the General Congregation are:

          a) the Prior General;
          b) the members of his General Council;
          c) the Priors Provincial;
          d) the General Commissaries;
          e) the Provincial Commissaries of those Commissariats which, on the day of the convocation of the General Congregation, have at least twenty voting members;
          f) the Superiors of those General Delegations which, on the day of the convocation of the General Congregation, have at least twenty voting members.

§2. Each Prior Provincial and each General Commissary may be accompanied by one religious who is truly expert in those matters to be dealt with at the Congregation, and who shall have the right to take part in the meetings of the Congregation, but not the right to vote.

§3. Those Provincial Commissaries and General Delegates who are not included under § 1.f) above, and the Presidents of Regions, participate in the Congregation, but shall not have the right to vote.”

Constitution 287 details the tasks of the General Congregation:

“It pertains to the General Congregation, gathered in collegial assembly,

          a) to assist the Prior General and his Council in their task of governing and animating the Order;
          b) to foster communication and contact between the General Curia and the various areas of the Order;
          c) to ensure the implementation of the decisions and decrees of the previous General Chapter; to assess the effectiveness of the guidelines provided; to make decisions and issue decrees, which shall be valid only until the following Chapter;
          d) to assist in the preparation of the following Chapter, and to advise the Prior General concerning the venue of the Chapter;
          e) to discuss the financial matters of the Order."

We hope that the chosen theme will help us to prepare as well as we can for the future of the Order. Service is an essential part of our charism but our world is constantly changing. Can we discern some trends so that we continue to serve the Church and the world according to God’s will? Obviously we can only do so much and we look to the future, trusting in God’s care for each of us and for the whole Carmelite Family.

Fr. Kevin Alban, Secretary General, will write regarding further details. If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact him. If you intend to be accompanied by a socius, please inform the Secretary General as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

Joseph Chalmers, O. Carm.
Prior General