Zoom meeting of Chapter Delegates to the 19th General Chapter, both by right and elected

As the General Council, in dialogue with the Superiors General of other Institutes, through the USG, we have tried to understand how other religious congregations and missionary institutes experience the approach of their General Chapter in this time of pandemic. The Vatican Congregation for Consecrated Life (CIVCSVA) has informed us that several institutes have postponed their General Chapter by a year or more, although some institutes, between the two waves of the pandemic, have had the opportunity to make a shorter General Chapter.

The USG also approached CIVCSVA asking if it was possible to make a General Chapter via telematics (Zoom or other digital platforms). To date, the Vatican has not given permission for a "virtual chapter", pope Francis seems to have said a categorical no to this possibility. CIVCSVA has published two documents on this subject allowing the General Councils to make a virtual consultation and also virtual gatherings of provincial or delegation councils.

Specifically, for our institute, CIVCSVA has given us permission to elect Chapter Delegates using telematic means.

The hope of all of us and that the pandemic will end as soon as possible and that we will be able to keep the General Chapter, but if this does not happen, we hope that the Vatican will at least allow a virtual Chapter to take place.

The CG invites all the Chapter Delegates, by right and elected, to meet us next March 8, via Zoom, to discuss the real possibility of carrying out the 19^th General Chapter in the place and scheduled dates, with a view to a decision to be taken by the CG during the March Consulta.

We propose to prepare for the meeting by reflecting on the following questions that we will share first in group work and then with summary in plenary. The Zoom meeting will be in Italian with simultaneous translation into English and French. We therefore ask the participants to express themselves in one of these three languages, if possible.

1. Given the covid-19 pandemic, with the new variants of the virus that worry scientific authorities and national governments, do you think it is possible to keep the General Chapter on the scheduled dates and place?
2. If you think it is not possible to do the General Chapter this year, when do you think it could be held? Where?
3. When do you think the final decision will have to be made to make or not to make the Chapter in 2021?

The link to be able to participate in this meeting will be sent to all the Superiors of the Circumscription who will kindly send it to the delegates to the Chapter elected in their constituency.

At the beginning of this time of Lent and waiting to meet you all virtually, we entrust each of you, your circumscriptions and the peoples we serve to the intercession of our founder, St Daniel Comboni, and to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
The General Council
Rome, February 17^th, 2021