Union of Our Lady of Charity

Chapter of the Union of Our Lady of Charity

Carrollton – July 2007

Before the joint Assembly of the two Unions ( June 30)

The North American Union of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity who welcomed us to Carrollton for the Chapter, has just held its own annual Assembly and will participate in our work.

June 30 was named an “international day,” in order to get to know each other and create a friendly climate. We celebrated a beautiful Eucharist presided by our Eudist brother Gérard Leconte. He is a Frenchman living in Canada for over 33 years, and preparing for a new mission in San Diego (California).
That afternoon the “social committee” had thought of a way to get to know each other through games without many words, since few of us speak other languages!
With the exchange of small gifts, and using games to identify the participants, the time passed quickly. The meal which followed was also an international one thanks to the skills of the Carrollton community sister cook and her assistants!
We were then ready to move into the Chapter room and try out the translation equipment.

July 01: beginning of the joint Assembly of the two Unions

A prayer time invited us to ponder St Paul’s letter to the Galatians: “You have been called to freedom…Place yourselves in love at the service of one another.” The group of a hundred sisters that we would form for these four days was then welcomed by Sr Angela Fahy and Sr Carol Pregno, the two superiors general. Their invitations were full of hope for us to live this time as God´s coming among us, walking with us in our effort to “incarnate the love of God in this globalised world”.

The morning was then spent in discovering the North American Union and all the richness of its missionary reality, that the sisters had also just shared among themselves during their own Assembly. They are “only” 80 sisters, many of whom might consider themselves “retired.” They nevertheless evidence great strength of conviction, and firm commitment to the cause of the marginalised, of those whom the present system has “made poor”…

At the beginning of the afternoon, the central team of Our Lady of Charity presented a summary of its activities during the six years of its mandate. What they said as well as the humourous illustrations that they presented, expressed very well how all their effort has been ordered through the desire to serve life and mission within the Union and in its relationships.

The central team report will be taken up later during the actual Chapter. In the context of this first day, it enabled elements to be underlined, such as the journey already undertaken in the search for unity for Our Lady of Charity ; gratitude for living this privileged time together that many had dreamed of; and the lived experience that we share the same fundamental objectives in carrying out our mission of mercy.

Later the province of Kenya presented itself, with its two foundations in Sudan and in Uganda. What profusion of life exists there! So many needs to which the mission of Our Lady of Charity could respond: young adolescents in Edelvale, the single mothers in Jamaa, the street children in Kitui, the refugee women from southern Sudan and from Uganda: so many faces and often dramatic situations…There are numerous challenges such as those posed by Aids, the lack of material resources, the consequences of war, the governments’ inadequate handling of the social problems, etc. Faced with all this, you can sense a young province whose creative imagination is placed at the service of our charism of compassion, in promoting the dignity of each person.

The need to set up international networks was mentioned, in the United States (because of the human trafficking especially of women) as much as in Kenya (e.g. to find outlets for the goods produced by African women).



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