General Council’s letter about the Institute’s journey of requalification

Dear Confreres,
Warm greetings from Rome.

In the context of the requalification process that we are carrying forward in the various Circumscriptions, we would first of all like to express to each one of you our sincere and heartfelt gratitude for the commitment, availability, and sense of responsibility you have shown during these months. We are thinking of the work carried out in the assemblies, the activities of the various sectors, the contributions offered within the Provincial Councils, and, not least, the many personal reflections that numerous confreres have chosen to share regarding the ongoing process.

We are aware that the journey we have undertaken is particularly demanding. On the one hand, the 2028 Chapter is approaching and calls us to move forward with determination; on the other hand, each confrere continues to carry out his ministry and the ordinary responsibilities of missionary life with dedication.

We have observed substantial support and a positive attitude toward the process of merger and requalification in the majority of the confreres, especially when it is viewed in the light of ministeriality and mission. At the same time, some confreres continue to express doubts, questions, and resistance, mainly due to uncertainty regarding how the process will develop and what effects it will produce. Such an attitude is understandable in the face of significant change. We consider these elements an integral part of the discernment we are living. No one possesses all the answers, and no one can claim to have a complete vision of the future. We are called to build this path together, considering the different realities of the Institute and the objective situation that has for some time highlighted difficulties in personnel management, the sustainability of our works, and the organization of the mission.

For this very reason, the difficulties we encounter should not discourage us, nor should we become prisoners of our fears. Rather, they are an invitation to engage in a deeper, more mature, and more far-sighted dialogue, capable of looking beyond immediate needs and asking what kind of missionary presence we are called to offer in the coming decades.

As the General Council, in accordance with what was announced in the letter of 1 February, we have carried out an initial review of the first four months of the journey undertaken so far. This review was based on listening to the provincial assemblies, the work of the Provincial Councils and regional commissions, the conversations held with numerous confreres, and the contributions gathered by the General Secretaries of the various sectors in dialogue with their respective provincial secretariats and Continental Councils.

From this exchange, several elements have emerged that we consider important to share with all of you.

Organization of the New Regions

First, we note with satisfaction that all circumscriptions are progressively intensifying their work regarding the organization, administration, and coordination of the future territorial realities, which for the time being we continue to call “Regions,” in order to distinguish them from the current circumscriptions (provinces and delegations).

Each Region has identified its own coordinating commission which, in many cases, has already met several times and has also involved the various secretariats, fostering broad and participatory dialogue. Although progress is being made at different paces, all Regions are developing working tools and initial drafts of directories that can offer a shared vision of future

organization, governance, and priorities. This material will be further examined and shared during September and October through dialogue between representatives of the future Regions and some members of the General Council.

The challenge of the coming months will be to make this material increasingly accessible to all confreres, so that the process does not remain confined to commissions or working groups but truly becomes a shared patrimony.

Mission

The issue of missionary requalification remains undoubtedly the most complex and decisive aspect of the process.

A widespread difficulty is perceived in planning the future of the new Regions beginning from ministeriality. In many cases, there is still a tendency to imagine the future as a simple continuation of the present situation, while a genuine process of rethinking apostolic priorities and forms of missionary presence struggles to emerge. This weakness draws attention to the tension we already experience between the ministerial priorities we have defined and the resources available to implement them.

Yet it is precisely here that the deepest meaning of requalification is at stake. It is not simply a matter of merging structures or simplifying governing bodies, but of asking ourselves which presences are truly meaningful for the mission today and which choices are necessary to ensure vitality and sustainability in the future.

This discernment may involve decisions that are not easy, such as the transformation, downsizing, or even closure of certain realities. These are steps that require courage, inner freedom, and a shared vision of the good of the Institute as a whole.

In this context, the research work on specific pastoral ministries carried out by the General Secretariat for Mission represents a valuable contribution and may provide practical tools to make the requalification process more dynamic and effective.

It will also be necessary to continue reflecting carefully on the sectors of Mission Animation and Communication, which will be called to play an increasingly strategic role in the future Regions.

For this reason, we can affirm that this process constitutes an authentic exercise in missionary requalification, offering us the opportunity to reflect on how to embody and implement our charism within the concrete context in which we are called to carry out our mission.

Formation

The Formation sector has also initiated an important process of reviewing the current formation structures and the entire formation journey.

Significant issues have emerged concerning the formation process, its content, accompaniment, academic standards, the possible merging and redefinition of certain structures, and vocational discernment. In all the Regions, particular concern has also been expressed regarding Ongoing Formation, which many recognize as an indispensable priority for the future.

The proposal to begin designing a shared regional specialization plan has likewise been welcomed with interest, as it would make it possible to better utilize existing competencies and respond more effectively to the future needs of the mission.

Economy and Sustainability

We consider it appropriate to reiterate a principle that has already been expressed previously: until the juridical erection of the new Regions, the assets of the current circumscriptions will remain under the responsibility of their respective Circumscriptions.

Future decisions will inevitably depend also on the fiscal and legal implications specific to each territorial reality.

This does not, however, exempt the Provincial Treasurers from continuing the work of gathering and organizing the data necessary to build a consolidated picture of the future Regions. While economic and financial aspects are relatively easier to analyse, the inventory of properties, works, projects, and other material resources appears considerably more complex.

Furthermore, from many quarters there emerges the urgent need to address the issue of sustainability. This concerns not only economic resources but also human and pastoral resources. Sustainability must become one of the fundamental criteria for evaluating future choices and ensuring that our presences may continue to be meaningful and missionarily effective.

Governance Structures

Numerous proposals are being submitted concerning the future governance structure, electoral colleges, terms of office for the bodies of general and regional governance, and other institutional aspects.

These are valuable contributions that testify to the confreres’ desire to participate actively in shaping the new configuration of the Institute. All these proposals will be forwarded to the Commission responsible for the revision of the Rule of Life so that they may be examined and developed into possible proposals to be submitted to the discernment of the Chapter.

Although it is still too early to define the future governance structure clearly, one element is already emerging with increasing clarity: the reorganization process is moving toward greater decentralization of decision-making, granting more autonomy to the Regions and enabling them to respond more effectively to their missionary plans. Within this framework, the principle of subsidiarity is also being strengthened as a criterion for ensuring more agile responses to pastoral needs and to the specific situations concerning personnel.

The Journey Toward September

Within this perspective, we also place the meeting scheduled for next September between the General Council and the Commissions of the new Regions. This will be a particularly significant moment, not only to review the progress made during the first months of work, but above all to discuss prospects and any necessary adjustments.

We hope that this gathering will become an authentic space of listening, discernment, and co-responsibility, capable of valuing what has been developed in the various Regions and fostering greater convergence around the fundamental orientations.

The indications emerging from this meeting will constitute an important stage in the process and will provide the necessary elements for the subsequent general review planned for January 2027. This review will represent a decisive moment for evaluating the path travelled so far, identifying priorities that remain open, and providing clearer direction for the work that will accompany us toward the 2028 Chapter.

We are still at the beginning of a journey that will require time, mutual listening, flexibility, and the capacity for discernment. Nevertheless, the first steps taken confirm that the Institute possesses sufficient energy, competence, and willingness to face this challenge with confidence and hope.

This journey is not merely a response to organizational or numerical difficulties, but an opportunity to renew fraternity and mission in the light of present challenges, making the most of the gifts we have received in service to the Institute and the Church.

From this perspective, the charism is a living reality to be rediscovered and made relevant today: not merely something to be preserved, but something to be lived with creative fidelity, allowing ourselves to be guided by the Spirit in discerning new forms of presence and mission.

We are therefore called not only to safeguard the heritage we have received, but also to imagine together new ways of evangelization, with creativity, courage, and faithfulness.

Trusting in the responsible contribution of each one, let us continue this journey with confidence, determination, and a spirit of communion.

Fraternally,
The General Council
Rome, 2 July 2026