Conclusion Of The 12th General Chapter

Sr. Mari Lucia Kim, Superior General

It is with deep emotion that I have the honor and joy of presiding over this final session of our General Chapter. In my heart, and I think in yours as well, resonate in this moment so many longings, challenges, desires for good, and so much gratitude.

Our Chapter has truly been an intense experience of sharing, celebration, and deepening the charismatic riches that the Lord has showered upon us. It has been an experience of blessing.

Since the days of the spiritual exercises, we have heard the Lord’s words addressed to Abraham: “May you be a blessing.” Through the experiences of Abraham, our father in faith, we have been led to understand God’s way of acting in history and to discern his will. The gift of blessings was also emphasized by Sister Anna Caiazza in her opening remarks to the Chapter: “There is a profound need for blessings on the world, on humanity, and there is also a need for blessings on ourselves, so that we may grow in boldness to communicate the gospel of hope and be a blessing in every corner of the world, a blessing of peace and meekness.”

The days in which we retraced the journey of the last six years were a blessing. Sister Anna presented to us “the beautiful face of our congregation: rich in color, diverse stories, seeds of the Gospel that continue to sprout… and daily toils transformed into an offering, like bread broken and shared.” With hope, she urged us to look at the “holiness next door” to believe that—even in dark moments—God never ceases to bring forth something new. “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” (Isaiah 43:19).

During the days dedicated to our circumscriptions, we contemplated as a blessing the various initiatives that testify to the vibrancy and beauty of our presence in the world and the great good we accomplish, even at times in silence.

The passionate words of the various speakers were a blessing, as they so clearly focused on the Chapter theme, urging us to let ourselves be impelled by the fire of the Spirit to be a blessing to many.

A blessing were the days spent together, in a synodal style, outlining the direction we wish to take for the near future and the specific calls for our congregation at this particular moment in history. Under the wise, gentle, yet firm guidance of Sister Tiziana Merletti, SFP, we drafted the Chapter document, identifying the direction that will illumine our upcoming journey with the related calls or priorities.

A tremendous blessing for all of us, for the entire congregation, was the audience granted to us by Pope Leo. He welcomed us with such kindness and spoke words of profound spiritual and charismatic anointing. Above all, he invited us to look up and immerse ourselves within.

Look up because ” The Spirit is the protagonist of the mission, the Spirit drives us forward, multiplying our talents, restoring us in our labours, warming our hearts when the joy of the Gospel grows cold, enlightening our steps and offering us creative insights, so that we can become capable of opening up new pathways for the communication of the faith.”

“Immerse yourselves inside situations,… in history… to enter the abysses of wounded humanity and to bring the love of the Father… it is a matter of inhabiting the current culture and embodying yourselves in the real life of the people you meet”. “The media you use,” the Pope continued, “must be a welcoming embrace for the sufferings and hopes of the women and men to whom you are sent”.

For every gift received during these days, we raise our thanks to the Lord.

Thanks first and foremost to Sister Anna Caiazza for these years spent, as counselor and as superior general, leading the Congregation. Thank you for her wisdom, her love for each sister, her tireless commitment to being, like Paul, “all things to all.”

Thanks to Sister Clarice, Sister Shalimar, Sister Anastasia, Sister Donna, Sister Bruna, Sister Micaela, Sister Carmen Christi, and Sister Annamaria for their service to the General Government, which is now concluding.

Thanks to the Pre-Chapter Commission, which arranged everything for the success of these days.

Thanks to the Facilitator, Sister Tiziana Merletti SFP, who accompanied us with true wisdom and expertise.

Thanks to the members of the Central Commission and the various teams: editorial, communications, liturgical, recreational and the reading of the minutes.

Thanks to the translators, who made communication possible among us all.

Thanks to the group moderators and secretaries.

Thank you to the sisters who silently performed various services to help us progress more smoothly.

Thank you to the sisters of Sicom who managed the website, bringing our faces and voices to every corner of the world. Thank you to Sister Saveria for her silent and swift work, even as a nurse.

Thank you to the Pauline brothers and their collaborators, who welcomed us into this home and created a family atmosphere.

Thank you to all our communities, to the Pauline Family, and to the various cloistered congregations who prayed and obtained so much light for us.

Thank you to the elderly and sick sisters who offered and prayed so much for us.

Thank you to all of us, the Chapter Sisters, for your commitment, seriousness, shared responsibility, and for the serious, industrious, and responsible atmosphere that characterized every phase of the Chapter.

And a heartfelt thank you to the sisters who agreed to share with me the privilege of serving the Congregation in the general government.

Let us Strain Ahead

Joyfully embracing the Pauline motto, “I strain ahead,” we now look onward with bold faith to the journey that awaits us, a journey with a very specific direction, the direction that emerged from our Chapter discernment:

Rooted in the Word that heals,
we joyfully live our Pauline identity
to be channels of light
and a blessing for humanity

Rooted in the Word that heals

We were born to communicate the Word, but first of all we are called to root ourselves, immerse ourselves in the Word, in that Word that generated us, shapes us, guides us, and sets our hearts on fire. Like Paul, we are entrusted to the Word to become always more “women of the Word,” “women of the covenant,” apostles who with faith and humility nourish themselves on the Word. Holding “the Word high,” clothe this Word in the colors of beauty, and break it into pieces so that it can touch the hearts of all and bring life, light, hope, and peace. May it reach the peripheries and new frontiers of thought, of prophetic dialogue with religions and culture.

Apostles of the Word who are committed to rekindling faith to “speak the words of God” and communicate his thoughts (see PP, p. 696).

We joyfully live our Pauline identity

An identity rooted in the experience of the Apostle Paul, our Father. The Pope invited us to ” Look at the ardour of Saint Paul, his tireless joy in proclaiming Christ even in the midst of difficulties and persecution.” But he also urged us not to create separations between what we preach and our daily lives, to be faithful to the method of integrality rooted in Christ the Master, Way, Truth, and Life. It is a call to unleash the energies of the charism, to bring it to life in our persons, and then to pass on to future generations the prophetic torch that has been entrusted to us.

To be channels of light and a blessing for humanity

This expression echoes the Founder’s words in Abundantes Divitiae, spoken in a Eucharistic atmosphere: “From here I want to cast light. That is, that I am your light and that I will use you to illumine; I give you this mission and I want you to fulfill it… Let each one recall that she is a transmitter of light, a loud-speaker of Jesus, a secretary of the evangelists, of Saint Paul, of Saint Peter… And referring to these channels, Sister Simona Brambilla, Prefect of the Dicastery for Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, urged us to have solid roots, drawing from the tree of the Institute so that the vital energy that reaches its recipients may pass through us.

The direction that the Spirit has inspired in us, accompanied by the various calls, will be truly challenging. We feel small and are therefore in the right position so that miracles of grace, holiness, and apostolate may continue to be accomplished in us and through us. For this, we entrust ourselves to Maestra Thecla, who always felt small and poor in the hands of God. Fr. Alberione himself urged us to follow the path traced out by Prima Maestra:

The Institute is in the will of God: walk on the path traced out by Prima Maestra… Know Prima Maestra always more so as to imitate her; ask for her same spirit. She has opened a deep channel for you: God will always be with you (CVV 264).

It’s a wish we’ll hold dear to our hearts.

Now all that remains is to officially close this chapter assembly:

Since the Chapter Assembly, with the required qualified majority, voted to close this General Chapter, I am happy to declare

the Twelfth Chapter officially closed,

which we celebrated according to the norms established in the Constitutions and the Directory in Articles 165-175.

The Chapter has concluded its functions, but now begins a new journey, a spiritual journey of listening and seeking God’s will, in which the Holy Spirit will be the protagonist.

In faith and love, we begin from this Cenacle to share the fruits of our work with the sisters, feeling particularly true the words of our Founder, which always passionately move us: “The Congregation is in our hands, which are good hands…”

We entrust ourselves to Jesus Master, Way, Truth, and Life, through the intercession of Mary, Queen of the Apostles, and to Saint Paul. Following the example of Blessed James Alberione and Venerable Sister Thecla Merlo, we commit ourselves to joyfully living the vocation of the Daughters of Saint Paul, courageously proclaiming the Gospel of hope.

Best wishes to all!