Enlarged Provincial Council

Let us become integrated communities for the mission

In the joy of Christmas, on the evening of the feast of St. Stephen (Friday, December 26, 2025), we gathered in Ariccia, convened for the extended Council. Three demanding days, immersed in the greenery of the Casa Divin Maestro.

The Extended Council is the "participatory body" envisioned by our Rule of Life as a valuable opportunity to meaningfully exercise co-responsibility in the Province's journey. These days are marked by community and personal prayer, guided reflection, and sharing in groups and discussions, following the method of conversation in the Spirit.

"The purpose of walking together is to make dreams sprout, inspire prophecies and visions, make hopes flourish, and foster trust. To bind wounds, forge relationships, revive a dawn of hope, learn from one another, and create a positive vision that enlightens minds, warms hearts, and restores strength to the spirit." These words of Pope Francis, spoken on October 3, 2018, illuminated the reflection planned for each Area of ​​the 2025-2027 program: "Let us become integrated communities," a speech that inspired a serene interior disposition, allowing us to approach each Area freed from the expectation of finding immediate solutions or proposals. In reality, we have realized, once again, that the phase the Province is experiencing requires clarity, common sense, the ability to address critical issues, and the need for discussion and consultation, to jointly take small steps and adhere to shared proposals.

The opening address was entrusted to Sister Micaela Monetti, pddm, who immediately drew attention to the word "integrated," whose meaning refers to the fusion of various elements within a unified organization (Treccani). She then expanded the reflection by recalling the image of the polyhedron, a metaphor used by Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium (236). The text states: "The model is not the sphere, which is not superior to the parts (...) the model is the polyhedron, which reflects the confluence of all the partialities that maintain their originality within it." This multifaceted vision is reflected in life and pastoral action, valorizing the contribution of each and every one.

Sister Cesarina Pisanelli, Provincial Superior, outlined the various stages of the program, and for each Area, we had time for personal reflection, working according to the method of conversation in the Spirit.

Father Gian Franco Poli, Episcopal Vicar of the Diocese of Albano for Consecrated Life, presided over the Eucharistic Celebrations, illuminating, with the Word of the day's Gospel, the work of the Enlarged Council on the theme: Living and Facilitating Co-Responsibility to Be Ever More Integrated Communities for the Mission.

The joyful atmosphere of the Christmas season, the presence of several young and creative Sisters, and the visit of the international novitiate community supported and enlivened the challenging yet relaxed pace of the days, and above all, we experienced the joy and pleasure of coming together as sisters. We breathed in what Pope Francis told us: "The purpose of walking together is to make dreams sprout, to inspire prophecies and visions, to make hopes flourish, to foster trust." Walking together! This is the synodal journey!

Sr. Maddalena Longobardi, sjbp