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3 July - August 2013 COSMO 7-8 EDITORIAL D ear brothers and sisters, September of this year 2013 will see our Friars Servants of Mary celebrating the Order s 213 th General Chapter. It will happen at the Servite Shrine and Priory of Pietralba- Weißenstein. I am pleased to be able to share this experience with friars from all over the world in a place that is blessed by God and by the presence of Our Lady. Our Order has always been a small Order, and at present it only numbers around 800 friars across the world. I think that smallness is part of our charism. We started in Florence in 1233, and this year we reach 780 years from the foundation. All through these long years we have been endeavouring to live the Gospel, with our charism and our spirituality, drawing inspiration always from Mary, Mother and Servant of the Lord. After so many years of life we can state firmly that our Order has a future. We are sure that our heritage is of the highest value and relevance. Our identity is something more than an abstract notion upheld across the centuries. As I wrote some years ago, on the occasion of the 700 th anniversary of the definitive approval of the Order, our identity is a way of being, a way of living, a way of loving, a way of tears, of struggle, of faith and hope, of sharing and blessing. Our identity is life, and we can be proud of our charism and our spirituality, but only of course when we are begetters and bearers of life. If we behave differently, rather than being proud of our charism and heritage, we would be destroying the meaning of our life as Servants of Mary. I should add that all of this is shared with our small great Family, the Family of the men and women Servants of Mary: enclosed nuns, women s congregations, secular institutes, Secular Order members, lay groups, lay Diaconates. All of us together share a charism based on a unique expression of faith and a characteristic way or style of living the Gospel: we draw inspiration from Mary, - holding only relations of peace and mercy, justice and constructive love with all creatures; we seek to stand with Mary at the foot of those countless crosses to bring comfort and redemptive cooperation; - we seek to promote a fraternity and friendship that knows no limits, - sharing people s faith and their doubts, living with them both bright luminous days and the darkest of nights. Our Family, our small great Family, must be prepared to sing its own Magnificat, with all of us declaring the marvels that God has achieved in our life. Then we can be sure of having a good and beautiful General Chapter, which will help to bring to reality all those things that the Lord and Holy Mary have presented to us. Fra Angel M. Ruiz Garnica, osm, Prior General 3 cosmo.osm@gmail.com

4 COSMO 7-8 July-August 2013 GENERAL CHAPTERS IN SERVITE HISTORY As the early Order was growing and consolidating itself, the experience of the first friar Servants of Mary was to have the religious meeting together in a general assembly every year. This occurred even more regularly with the establishment of the first Provinces of the Order. The first General Chapter on record was held in Florence in September 1257 under the leadership of fr Iacopo of Siena. A juridical record is contained in the letter Indicunt nos by Pope Urban IV sent to Orvieto in 1263 to all the Priors and friars of the Servants of Saint Mary of the Order of Saint Augustine. In this letter the Pope authorised the friars to celebrate the Chapter of the said Order and elect its Prior General for the said Order there. The letter laid down among other things that the Prior General be confirmed in office by the Pope, or else by the local Bishop when the General Chapter is celebrated in a place that is more than five days walking distance from the Roman Curia. In the meantime, the Order shall be governed by one or several Vicars. Since the possibility of celebrating a regular General Chapter is one of the features that the Apostolic See would grant to a religious movement as an official recognition of its validity, the document in question represents a basic milestone in the history of the Order. We also have a record of the celebration of two General Chapters in the years which were difficult for the Order following the Council of Lyons in 1274: these are stated in the Chronicon rerum totius sacri Ordinis Servorum beatae Mariae Virginis (1567) by fra Michele Poccianti. The General Chapter of Pistoia in 1276 under the Prior General of the Servants, St. Philip, was faced with the struggles and hostilities taking place in that city. St Philip urged the Pistoians publicly to be reconciled to God and to one another. Moved by his words, many made their peace with the Lord and gave all their possessions to the poor, leaving their families and choosing Philip as their father. Under his guidance they decided to serve the Blessed Virgin in poverty. At the end of his address, one of the local people, a leader in the Ghibelline faction, went up to Philip and humbly begged him to be admitted to the Order, and to begin a life of penitence, with the help of God. The saint granted the request of the man, who had previously been unscrupulously violent in his ways, and directed him to forgive his enemies and to repay fourfold anyone he had defrauded. Bonaventure duly fulfilled the evangelical command that he had been given, with generosity on his part and admiration on the part of all who saw it. And so he entered to become part of the Order (pp.58-61). The second General Chapter on record in Poccianti s writings is the Chapter of 1278 held at Borgo Sansepolcro. Here too Saint Philip gave a homily, which caused a young man among the listeners to be deeply moved by the words of the saint. Moved by the Holy Spirit he left his parents and all his possessions for the love of God. Soon afterwards he asked and received the habit of the Servants, taking the name of fra Andrew (ibidem, p.62). Already it was clear from these early records that the General Chapters included public happenings, in which the Order presented itself to the local Commune and the people of the city that was hosting the gathering. The Constitutiones antiquae (CA) in the version that is available to us today were most probably written on the occasion of the General Chapter of 1289 held in Florence; certainly they date from before 1295, when the series of Constituiones novae began to be written, a title used to describe the decrees produced by the General Chapters. The entire Chapter XXV of the CA is dedicated to General Chapters. And this is where we find the legislative texts that deal with the way of celebrating General Chapters in the first decades of our Order. 4 cosmo.osm@gmail.com

5 July - August 2013 COSMO 7-8 The General Chapter was celebrated every year, usually on the 1 st of May; those who took part were the Prior General, his Sociuscompanions and all the Priors Provincial ; each community would send its conventual Prior and also an elected Delegate for every 12 friars. The Chapter was conducted on very well defined lines. After the opening invocation of the Virgin Mary, our Advocate, invoked on our knees, there were a number of meditations and the remembrance of the friars who had died in the past year. And at that point, all those who were not part of the Chapter had to leave the assembly. After they had gone, four Definitors shall be elected from the capitular friars, in the following manner: each capitular shall write down his own name and then the name of the Definitors he is electing. After all this has been written, the names shall be announced in the chapter assembly, specifying the names of the voters and the people elected. There followed a moment of fraternal correction, after which if any new decrees are being presented, they shall be made known to the capitulars; those decrees that obtain the consent of a majority of the Chapter shall be recorded in a separate volume, not alongside the old decrees until they have gained the approval of three yearly Chapters. Then there was a second round of election, in which the Prior General and the four Definitors chose the Priors Provincial and the Conventual Priors, then proceeding to the composition of the communities: the same format was followed in the Provincial Chapters. There were clear indications for any modification of capitular decrees: The capitular friars cannot modify or innovate anything being proposed to the Chapter in session without the consent of everyone. Similarly not even the Prior General nor the Priors Provincial can make any change whatever to a general statute of the Order or to a long-standing usage which is commonly observed except with the approval of three successive Chapters. Finally, it was laid down that no religious from another Order or profession, and no secular of any Order or status or profession or life, shall be admitted for any reason whatever to the discussions in Chapter (how much water has gone under the bridge since then..!). Decisions on eventual variations in the Divine Office, or sums of money allocated to the study-house in Paris, and the acceptance of candidates coming from other Orders or confraternities were all assigned to the authority of the General Chapter. The General Chapters were also occasions for granting participation in the spiritual benefits of the Order. The first recorded case concerned the Prior General St. Philip of Florence: in the General Chapter of Arezzo 1273 he granted to all members of the Laudesi Society of St Mary s church in Florence belonging to the said Order a share in the spiritual gifts achieved in the Order, as well as suffrage for their deceased members on the occasion of the annual General Chapter. The Papal Bull of Clement VI Regimini universali ecclesiae, published in Avignon on 23 March 1346 stated that the General Chapter should be celebrated every three years, and the Prior General who up to that time remained in office practically for life should give his willing resignation on the occasion of the General Chapter (if no resignation was offered, his term in office would cease in any case); he could be reelected and - a most important detail the automatic confirmation of the Pope was in- 5 cosmo.osm@gmail.com

6 COSMO 7-8 July - August 2013 cluded in this. This arrangement for the resignation of the Prior General remained in force on paper for the next two centuries, but the Priors General in practice tended to remain in office for life, right up to the Verona General Chapter of The regular three-yearly celebration of the General Chapter took place in the history of the Servants of Mary during the second part of the Avignon period of papal residence, and during the great eastern schism: through all of this division, the Order was always aligned with the Pope and Rome. Once the Latin Church was reconciled in unity a reform movement began in the Order with the name of The Observance. This movement set up the annual celebration of General Chapters, in line with the Constitutiones antiquae. General Chapters of the Observance The Observance ( ) held 126 General Chapters during its long history, from the first one in the Santissima Annunziata Priory, Florence in 1441, to the final one in the San Barnaba Priory, Mantua in The Chapters were held regularly every year, in accordance with the dictates of the Constitutiones antiquae, from the Order s earliest days until 1560, when the Chapters began to be every three years. For 18 of those General Chapters there is no record of the place where they were held ( , , 1462, 1465, 1473, , 1567, 1570); one Chapter was not held at all because it coincided with the Council of Trent (1563); while in 1530 there were two General Chapters, in S.Polo, Padua and S. Maria in Via, Rome). For the General Chapters of the Observance whose location is known, the following is a list of the locations: Vicenza, Santa Maria di Monte Berico 16 (1445, 1448, 1461, 1467, 1471, 1475, 1484, 1492, 1494, 1500, 1518, 1523, 1533, 1544, 1550, 1555); Brescia, Sant Alessando 8 (1444, 1463, 1480, 1482, 1486, 1491, 1498, 1501); Forlì, Santa Maria dei Servi 7 (1464, 1472, 1485, 1511, 1538, 1553, 1564); Mantova, San Barnaba 7 (1466, 1478, 1489, 1503, 1509, 1515, 1574); Rovato, Santissima Annunciata 7 (1468, 1474, 1479, 1499, 1514, 1522, 1535); Casal Maggiore, Ma- donna della Fontana 7 (1510, 1513, 1527, 1534, 1540, 1542, 1558); Venice, Santa Maria novella 5 (1446, 1470, 1477, 1483, 1495), Venice, Santa Maria dei Servi, 2 (1487, 1502); Bergamo, San Gottardo 4 (1455, 1476, 1493, 1506); Piacenza, Santa Maria di Piazza 4 (1497, 1508, 1512, 1520); Coniolo 4 (1517, 1524, 1532, 1559); Florence, Santissima Annunziata 3 (1441, 1442, 1443); Cremona, San Cataldo 3 (1469, 1488, 1490); Padua, San Polo 3 (1481, 1496, 1530); Udine, Madonna delle Grazie 3 (1507, 1519, 1549); Rome, Santa Maria in Via 3 (1530, 1536, 1541); Soragna, Santa Maria 3 (1531, 1547, 1548); Bagnoli 3 (1528, 1529, 1545); Sermide, Santa Maria del Pioppo 3 (1539, 1551, 1556); Ferrara, Santa Maria della Consolazione 2 (1516, 1560); Forlimpopoli, Sant Antonio 2 (1537, 1543); Monte Senario, Santa Maria 1 (1447); Milan, San Dionigi 1 (1521); Perugia, San Fiorenzo 1 (1525); Montecchio, Santa Maria 1 (1526); Castel San Giovanni 1 (1546); Pesaro, Madonna delle Grazie 1 (1552); Verona, Santa Maria del Paradiso 1 (1554); Bologna, San Giorgio in Poggiale 1 (1557). Data taken from Congregazione dell Osservanza dei Servi di santa Maria, edited by fr P.M.Branchesi, o.s.m., Bologna 2001 During the pre-tridentine phase there is particular record of two General Chapters which saw the largest participation of friars of the Order when the Order was most numerous: Vetralla (1485) and Bologna (1488). The 1485 Chapter was held at the Vetralla castle of the Order s Cardinal Protector, Cardinal Giovanni Michiel. It went from the vigil of Pentecost to the Saturday of the following week, with over 400 people present, 183 voting friars and more that 90 friars of the Observance with their Vicar (all supported and paid for by the Cardinal), as well as 8 novices with their novice-master the French fra Andrea, brought in to provide music for the religious rituals. Three years later, in the Bologna Chapter, at least 900 friars took part as well as 88 sisters of the Third Order; on the 25 th or 26 th [of May] there was a procession with 596 friars and 54 women wearing the robes of the Order, 16 floats or images of blessed men and women of the Order, 58 sets of copes and 75 chasubles all brought from Florence, as well as songs and music performed by the novi- 6 cosmo.osm@gmail.com

7 July - August 2013 COSMO 7-8 ces and friars who came from Florence; at uring the General Chapter of the close, in the days following the Chapter, D there were special sermons in praise of Religious Life and Bologna, public debates and Girolamo Amidei of Siena in 1533, Fra other sermons among whom fra Bonaventure of Forlì (later Blessed of the Order) who ing presentation to Lucca made a mov- was elected on that occasion to be their the capitulars on the General Vicar by the friars of the Observance. Meanwhile the Prior General was decay of Monte Se- state of neglect and carried around on a sella gestatoria seat nario. He insisted on because he had suffered a fall while travelling from Florence to Marradi. He had been was too late. The priory itself had been da- the necessity of doing something before it unanimously re-confirmed as General (Dal maged shortly before by a serious earth Pino). Among other things at this Chapter quake; discipline had lapsed for a number of was the creation of the Province of Genoa reasons, especially after the community had with a number of priories taken from the withdrawn from the Congregation of the Observance in Lombard Province, including the Studium at Pavia. Also the Chapter gave support for The appeal of the Prior General, written in developing foundations in Spain and Portugal and sent a Vicar General there. Some passages of the talk seem to reflect a Latin, has come down to us in its entirety. Such a large number of participants could concern that goes beyond the situation of have problems. In this regard Pope Innocent Monte Senario and extends to the entire VII wrote a Letter Licet alias (16 April 1491) Order. decreeing that the only ones to take part in Fra Girolamo Amidei first recalled that the the General Chapter must be the current Order was born on Monte Senario and many Prior General, the Provincials, those who saints had lived there; he then added with were Lectors in sacred theology in the general study centres, the Conventual Priors haps through our own fault, we see Senario bitterness: For some time, however, per- and their discreti (consultants). Nevertheless, there were around 300 friars participatmost destroyed; we can say with tears that mortally wounded and its foundations aling in the General Chapter of 1491, and the the crown has fallen from our head. Recognizing the urgency of repairs, the Prior Gen- chapters after 1500 saw hundreds of friars attending. With each General Chapter the eral admitted two obstacles: the lack of available resources and the excessive divisions Order made a major presentation of itself in the city where the chapter was being held, existing within the Order which made every including daily public debates, preaching, community think only of itself and have little sermons and musical events. concern for the others. He added immediately: Can any of you imagine that Monte Se- In 1511 the records show the unique occurrence of the one person having the two offices of Vicar General for the Observance and been moments of rebirth in the Order who nario is not his own? If, in fact, there have Prior General for the Order: fra Clemente would dare deny that they began at Monte Bonardi of Mantua was elected in both General Chapters (for the Order and the Ob- deny that Senario is the common home of Senario? Who would have the courage to servance), both being held in Forlì. all who desire to live a religious life of solitude, prayer and sanctity I refuse to be- Ten years later at the Verona General Chapter (19-21 May 1521) the Order adopted an lieve that anyone is opposed to my exhortation; otherwise, I would have to think that official stance of opposition to the Lutheran movement, and appointed various friars to that person wishes harm to the entire family counteract it in preaching and writing. of our Order. The Siena General Chapter of 1533 is worthy of note. It was here that the Prior Gented and Monte Senario was to remain al- The invitation, unfortunately, was not acceperal fr Girolamo of Lucca made his famous most abandoned for another sixty years. speech on the neglected state of the priory of Monte Senario. V. BENASSI, O.J. DIAS, F.M. FAUSTINI, A Short History of the Servite Order, Rome 1987, pp cosmo.osm@gmail.com

8 COSMO 7-8 July - August 2013 In 1545, coinciding with the opening of the Council of Trent, the General Chapter was postponed and the Prior General Agostino Bonucci was confirmed in office by the Pope. Bonucci did not want to move far away from the assembly of the Council of Trent, which had been transferred to Bologna, and so he convoked the General Chapter of 1548 to meet in Budrio. The General Chapters of the Tridentine era gave attention, among other things, to reforming the Constitutions, with the production of several editions (1548, 1556, 1569 and 1580). In 1560 the Observance decided to celebrate its own General Chapter every three years, in line with the practice in the Order. At this time there were numerous interventions by the Pope in the election of the Prior General, while in 1569 Pius V in line with norms from Trent decided that each Province must not have more than 3 voters at the General Chapter. The final General Chapter of the Observance took place in Mantua on 25 April A few weeks later (on May) the General Chapter of the Order was held at Cesena. When this ended, as the friars were about to return home, the presiding Bishop convoked the Chapter anew, and gave notice that through the Cardinal Protector of the Order the Observance was to be united to the Order by declaration of Pope Pius V. The Cesena General Chapter in 1588 stipulated that St. Thomas Aquinas must be the author to be used in theology studies throughout the Order, while the Rome Chapter of 1603 officially established the priories in Spain as a Province. The next General Chapter in 1609 directed fra Arcangelo Giani to gather together all the available authentic documents to create a printed history of the Order. This would be the Annales, funded by the Order. This Chapter also arranged for a commission to examine the first draft of special Constitutions for the Hermits of Monte Senario. The Bologna General Chapter of 23 May 1618 decreed the regular six-yearly celebration of General Chapters: this decision was ratified the following year by Paul V in his Letter Cum sicut electi of 17 May A quick look at the General Chapters of the 1600s shows the following: in 1690 the General Chapter was held in San Marcello, Rome. It endorsed the choice made the previous year by the Italian Provinces urged by Prior General fra Giulio M. Arrighetti to make the third Sunday of September the principal solemn feast for the Order. That Sunday was already dedicated to the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin by apostolic indult. During the century of enlightenment the guidance of the Order was conducted by outstanding Priors General, numbers of whom were later named as Bishops or Cardinals. But they were almost always elected by the Pope, not the General Chapter. It should be noted that in the 18 th century only 12 of the expected 18 General Chapters were held, and they were all celebrated in the priory of San Marcello, Rome. From 1750 to the outbreak of the French Revolution (1789) seven out of an expected eight General Chapters were held, again all of them in the Roman priory of San Marcello. In two of these the Pope intervened to choose the Prior General. In the Napoleonic times there were only two General Chapters, in Rome (1792) and Florence (1804), while the Chapter of 1798 was not celebrated at all because of the First Roman Republic, and the 1810 Chapter was blocked by the general suppression imposed in Italy by Napoleon. It was only in 1823 that a General session was held in Rome. After this, the regular rhythm of six-yearly chapters was restored. An interesting detail is that in 1841 the Pope was obliged to intervene in the election of the Prior General during the General Chapter held in San Marcello Priory, Rome on 29 May to 5 June. Sixteen friars took part. After 3 elections with exactly the same outcome, the 8 cosmo.osm@gmail.com

9 July - August 2013 COSMO 7-8 Cardinal Protector Luigi Lambruschini, who was presiding at the Chapter, decided to suspend the meeting and await instructions from the Holy See. The meeting was resumed on 2 June with the reading of the Papal Brief (dated 20 May) in which Gregory XVI elected as General the one who had received the relative majority of votes, the Tuscan friar Francesco M. Strigelli. With the well-founded hope of recovering numerous priories, the Chapter discussed establishing a new Province made of three priories (Santa Maria dei Servi in Bologna, Santa Maria di Monte Berico and St John the Baptist, Mendrisio). These represented regions where the Servite presence had not yet been reestablished. For this reason they were placed under the direct jurisdiction of the Prior General. In the following General Chapter on 14 May 1853 the Tyrolese friar Albuin M. Patscheider was elected General. He was a Doctor of Theology with many languages, already the Provincial in Tyrol, and then Procurator General of the Order in He was the first non-italian Prior General of the Order. After the following General Chapter of 1859 (once more held in San Marcello Priory, Rome) there began a period of serious problems for the Order. Only in 1882 was it possible to convene a new General session, which took place in Rome on 2-6 October. The Sacred Congregation for the Discipline of Regular Religious made a Rescriptdecree on 17 November 1882, which meant that the Order would begin to have a General Council, a new instrument of governance. The Regulation for this new Council was approved on 18 December Among other things, in line with a proposal of the Prior General which the Holy See endorsed, the function of General Definitors was extended to the three Provinces (Tuscan, Picena and Roman) until the following General Chapter. This brought about a permanent group of collaborators for the Prior General. At first the General Council was made up of fra Filippo Ricciardi (Definitor General of the Tuscan Province and former Rector of that Province), Andrea Corrado (Definitor General of the Roman Province, who had been serving as Secretary to the Prior General), and Alessio Caroni (General Definitor of the Picena Province and Parish Priest at Santa Maria in Via in Rome). The Secretary of the General Council was Giovannagelo Pagliai. Thus the Prior General, with the agreement of the Holy See, had chosen the three General Definitors of the Italian Provinces, those namely who were located nearest to Rome and who could be called to meetings most easily. (The records show that not all members were able to attend all the meetings of the General Council). The General Chapter of 1888 was held at Santa Maria in Via Priory in Rome. It decreed that the General Council should be made up of General Definitors from all the Provinces of the Order, as elected in their particular Provincial Chapters. On 12 March 1889 the Sacred Congregation for Bishops and Regulars changed that decree almost completely: instead, the General Council should have 4 Councillors, chosen at the General Chapter, to assist the Prior General. And these would be obliged to reside in Rome. Just as the 19 th Century came to its close, the Monte Senario General Chapter of June 1895 elected fr Giovanni Angelo M. Pagliai as Prior General. With his Definitors he decreed that the spirit of Our Order is the cult of the Virgin of Sorrows. It was this same Chapter that first spoke of involve- 9 cosmo.osm@gmail.com

10 COSMO 7-8 July - August 2013 ment in missions by the Order to nonbelievers, as part of the missionary work of the Church. This was echoed at the 1901 Chapter and again in In 1907 fra Giuseppe Lucchesi was elected General, under whom the missionary outreach would begin. There was a special General Chapter in 1905, held at the Santa Maria in Via Priory in Rome on 11 February to 7 March. This was for the revision of the Constitutions. The revised text was approved by the Holy See and distributed to the Order at the 1907 General Chapter, which was held at the same priory. An enormous effort was made for this revision. But it was all fruitless, because the Great War happened soon afterwards, and then the revision of Canon Law which required the whole task to begin again (Montagna). This was the time when the friars of the Germanic Observance responded to the vote of the Order and came together to welcome the new text of the Constitutions and join completely with the rest of the Order after three centuries. After the First World War the Monte Berico General Chapter, 27 May 1920, decided on the construction of the new International College on the Janiculum Hill in Rome dedicated to Saint Alexis Falconieri. It was in these buildings on Viale Trenta Aprile that the General Chapters of 1938 and 1947 were held the latter having been postponed for 3 years because of the Second World War. In these Chapters fra Alfonso M. Benetti was elected and subsequently reelected. After this fra Alfonso M. Montà was elected Prior General in 1953 and reconfirmed in Lastly there was the series of General Chapters which undertook the enormous work of revision of the Constitutions after the Second Vatican Council: Florence (1965), Madrid (1968), Opatija (1971), Rome (1974) including the memorable meeting of the capitular friars with Pope Paul VI, Barcelona (1977) until the approval of the Constitutions on 25 March The General Chapters from 1989 gave particular attention to re-structuring and re-organisation of the Order. Among these Chapters, as well as the Yugoslavia Chapter of 1971, was the first General Chapter on a different continent, with the Mexico City Chapter of Since then, the General Chapters of 1989, 2001 and 2007 have been celebrated at Ariccia near Rome. fr. Franco M. Azzalli,osm From the Discourse of Paul VI to the General Chapter 1974 (Saturday 12 October) I t often happens to me that, just before a speech, the one already prepared, I like to have a little prelude, just like musicians do before a concert (isn t that true?). Before beginning their music the violinists in particular try to achieve the right note. And the right note is this: I am really sad that I do not have much time, because we are overrun with work and activities, especially for the Bishops Synod that is taking place. But I am very sensitive to this kind of encounter. It is a fortune and a joy and a consolation to meet a religious family right in the middle of its striving for fidelity and renewal, drawing together the history of its past with prophecy for its future history. This is the present moment of your celebration of General Chapter. It is a great lesson for me. I could say one of those lessons that drops down from heaven and gives comfort in the middle of so many problems that are not always comfortable events around the life of the Pope. Quite the contrary, let me repeat, is meeting a group, a family, a religious order like yours 10 cosmo.osm@gmail.com

11 July - August 2013 COSMO 7-8 spread all over the world and boasting of centuries of tradition. Here you are declaring, we are still here, we are keeping faith. Indeed we wish to blossom anew like those old olive trees in our fields that can seem worn out and gnarled with no more inner energy, and yet out they come with new and tender shoots, sweet shoots and silver leaves, bearing precious and abundant fruit ; that is how it is with you. So I am most happy to be meeting with you here. I have some little memories, but I am not sure if they are correct. Let me try one. One will be enough. Pietralba is one of your priories, isn t it? I spent three or four days there in 1930 (O my goodness, that was all of 44 years ago!). I remember this, because it was the anniversary of Saint Augustine. I was reading various works of Saint Augustine (that was when I was in the midst of university students). I enjoyed doing this. I spent four days at Pietralba. I was enormously weary when I arrived there. There was no road and the vehicle left me down far from the house. But it became a great consolation. I remember those days as a time of real spiritual fullness. I engaged in conversation with the young people, with all their great longings and their problems, with a spiritual intensity that was truly exemplary and genuine. My stay there left me with a sense of those serene and peace-filled Alps, and an impression and remembrance that brought me fraternally close to your religious family as though it were my own. NOTES ON THE GENERAL CHAPTER IN THE ORDER OF SERVANTS OF MARY 1. The General Chapter of the Order of Servants of Mary The Constitutions define the Chapter, in general terms, as a meeting of all the friars of the community. It brings about the presence of the Lord promised to the disciples gathered in his name [cfr. Mt. 18:20] and expresses their communion of life. (art. 34). The Constitutions also indicate the themes that must be dealt with in a Chapter: In chapter the community studies those human and religious issues which intensify its fraternity and apostolic collaboration; it plans its activities and deals with practical problems; and it makes decisions in accordance with the Constitutions [ ] (art. 35). They also state that one of the main purposes of the chapter, whether conventual, provincial, vicarial or general, is for the community to examine its fidelity to the gospel and the Constitutions. In particular, it examines the adequacy of its response to the needs of others, the Church and the Order, the authenticity of its witness and its use of material goods according to the spirit of poverty. (art. 36). The Constitutions, when speaking more specifically of the General Chapter, state the following: General Chapters are particularly fruitful events in the life of the Order. The friars bring to chapter the benefits of diverse experiences and voice personal and local needs; they examine and plan common endeavours with a sense of personal responsibility and responsibility towards the brothers they represent. (art. 41) cosmo.osm@gmail.com

12 COSMO 7-8 July - August 2013 Canon Law states: The General Chapter, which has supreme authority in the Institute in accordance with the norms of its Constitutions, shall be so arranged as to represent the entire Institute, thereby becoming a true sign of its unity in charity. It is the Chapter s task above all: to safeguard the patrimony of the Institute as in canon 578 and to promote appropriate renewal that is concordant with that patrimony; to elect the Supreme Moderator, to deal with matters of major importance, and to produce norms which all are bound to observe. (Can.631 1). Summing up those features mentioned above and offering the following definition, we consider the General Chapter to be a vital and privileged moment in the community life of the whole Order, endowed with collegial authority and the calling to discern how to deal with matters related to a range of aspects of religious life, and for the election of the Prior General and the General Council. The General Chapter is the highest authority in the Order, with ample powers described in Church Law and the Order s own rule of life. 2. The General Chapter as an Ecclesial Event The documents of the Church (Vita Consacrata 1.3) state that a charism is a gift of the Holy Spirit for the benefit of the Church. From this, the charism of the Family of the Servants of Mary is a gift of the Holy Spirit entrusted to its members who are always part of the People of God, a holy Gathering. Moreover, this charism is not restricted to just the first group of friars nor to the hundreds of members who make up the Order of today; rather the charism belongs to the Church as the Assembly of the People of God, consecrated members and layfolk. The friars are only the guardians or holders, but not the owners of the charism, since they have received this gift from the Spirit who poured it out upon them in their intense experience of communion together, the gift of God to the Seven Holy Founders nearly 800 years ago. The General Chapter should be considered an ecclesial event of interest to the Christian community in general, and in particular to those places where all the members of the Order live out their apostolic service. For this reason, the General Chapter, as a meeting that represents the whole Order, is not a private matter that only involves the members of the Order. Rather, it is a significant ecclesial event. It is a manifestation of the Church, from whom it receives its authority and recognition. It acquires its identity from the Church in whose setting its mission is judged to be authentic. It finds its fulfilment in the Church, with the Church and for the Church. The General Chapter is a privileged occasion for deepening awareness of the Order s links with the Church, on whose behalf the Order offers its mission in the world as being sent by Christ. For this reason, the General Chapter is a setting for collegial discernment of the Will of God concerning the Order s mission in the Church in keeping with its own special charism. That charism draws on the original inspiration of the early apostolic community enlightened and guided by the Holy Spirit, and similarly on the powerful inspiration of the Seven Founders. If the General Chapter is seen as an important moment for the Order, it should also be considered such by each and every local Church where the Order is present; it should address a clear message to the church and society in those places. The Order has a right to do this, and this maintains its place in the Church where all are working for the same destiny: the Kingdom of Heaven. 3. The General Chapter and an Attitude of Listening In a General Chapter but this can equally be said of Chapters at all levels, provincial and conventual the Order holds itself in an attitude of listening. Listening to the Word of God first of all. And this Word, as well as being celebrated and welcomed individually, 12 cosmo.osm@gmail.com

13 July - August 2013 COSMO 7-8 is communicated through the particular tradition of the Order (in its history and spirituality), and through daily life in whatever the friars are hearing and saying. Thirdly it comes through whatever the Spirit is saying to the Church and the world of today, through the signs of the times, in what is resonating in today s society and culture. It is the same Spirit who spoke to the Seven Holy Founders and who continues to speak to the heart of each of the friars, challenging them in specific and diverse situations. This makes it important for the General Chapter to continue to listen to the voice of the whole Order, as was happening in the various stages of preparation (through consultations) and will happen in any subsequent follow-up to the Chapter. This basic attitude of listening to the Word of God requires the Order to re-visit the foundational texts of its Tradition, together with a further reading of present-day experience. Indeed, the origins of the charism of the Order are stated in some amazingly rich spiritual documents that express and describe the specific spirituality of the Servants of Mary. Doubtlessly a blend of these documents and the experience of the friars who lived and extended the charism of the Order across the years provide a summons to go on welcoming and living the Word of God. When it gathers in Chapter, the Order is called to listen to the voice of those who labour in the demanding fields of apostolic activity. It must listen to those who open up new fields in uncharted places. It must listen to the troubled groans of the restless as well as the sweet voices of those who are content. The Order must let itself be guided by the successes of human achievements, and learn lessons from human failures as well. Finally, the Order is called to listen to what layfolk are saying to the friars about their hopes and expectations of the friars. It should not be forgotten that the Order originated in a setting of lay Christian living. Certainly there is need to give more attention to layfolk, especially those people who give their help and service in the ecclesial communities of the Servants of Mary, wishing to share more deeply in the charism of the Order. 4. General Chapter: an Important Time for Renewal and Communion It is probably right to say that the General Chapters before the Second Vatican Council were mostly concerned with electing the ones who would govern the Order. The Second Vatican Council, in its document Perfectae Caritatis no.4, stated that the General Chapter is one of the principal ways of renewal. And the Constitutions state, The community in chapter also examines its fidelity to the gospel and the Constitutions. In particular, it examines the adequacy of its response to the needs of others, the Church and the Order, the authenticity of its witness and its use of material goods according to the spirit of poverty. (art. 36). Faced with a challenge of profound and rapid cultural change in today s world, the Order wishes to be renewed. And through its General Chapter it may offer a light to society, as it seeks a more human interpretation of the realities of life. It may reflect on things like migration around the Order, economic systems, balances of rich and poor, encounter with other religions, need for community, global collaboration, etc. It is surely true that the Order can offer useful interpretation of world events, because it has a very insightful place with the realities of the Church and society. On the matter of communion and community, it is well to remember that the General Chapter represents, expresses and celebrates a sense of communion across the whole Order. This is both special and highly relevant. It can radiate a much-needed spirit of community in today s world. The friars at the Chapter give concrete expression to coresponsibility and subsidiarity among all the members of the Order. And this will ensure greater togetherness and reliable vitality for everyone cosmo.osm@gmail.com

14 COSMO 7-8 July - August The General Chapter and Servite Specific Charismatic Identity The General Chapter gives the Order another opportunity to re-live its own special identity. Doing this should not be theoretical or abstract. It is not based on mere scientific analysis of the early writings of the Order or its history. Identity is not defined by a formula. Rather, it implies real choices towards a renewal of vocation. It means acknowledging a particular way of serving, and the need for radical change of heart, to be lived continuously day after day. In effect, the Servite charismatic identity is not something that can simply be quantified. Rather, it comes from a response to a call that has been received, and it is enduringly new. That identity does not mean proclamation of self, as members of the Order, but the proclamation of Jesus Christ as Lord. One s definition of personal identity and role is not enough; one s life must speak mainly of God, shown through daily living, through fidelity to the religious commitment, and even through one s words. Therefore the Order should not be worrying simply about the quality of religious life in the friars, but about the whole identity of Servants of Mary in general. This will mean desiring to keep that identity fully alive and pass it on to future generations. This may, of course, require statutes and certain norms to guide the life of the friars as they face the challenges of today s Church and society. A further point of interest is this: it is clear from the history of the Order that the most significant steps of development for the Order, and the most important choices, have all been linked to the General Chapters across the years. This means that the work of a General Chapter will draw its challenges from the charism of the Order. That charism will give wellfocused direction to the energies and creativity of the Chapter. 6. The General Chapter as a Shared Conversation The General Chapter is a collegial and a community action. Its workings are collegial. This means that its decisions in Chapter are taken by the college of those officially assigned to take part in the Chapter. It is a community action because it expresses the life of the whole community and is an integral part of that life. This implies that it is not simply a group of people chosen for a determined task. All the participants have been elected to the Chapter, some elected as friars in charge, others as delegates. They all act as representatives of all the members of the Order. And since the Chapter is a time of listening, it must also be a time of dialogue, meaning sensitive openness to God. And listening to the voice of God necessarily means listening openly to others. Being open to the voice of God requires being open to dialogue with one s brothers. This can take various forms, like Gospel-sharing, or even replying to a questionnaire or consultation, or attending study sessions, working on a commission, formulating proposals, sharing in groups, and such like. This attitude of listening and dialogue is essential during the Chapter itself, just as it has been during the phases of preparation. 7. The General Chapter: its Evolution A General Chapter cannot bear its proper fruit if it has not been well prepared. This is not simply technical preparation even though this too is important but a deeper preparation of spirits and hearts in all the members of the Order. In truth, the time of preparation of a General Chapter begins on the day of closure of the previous Chapter. From that day there begins the work of conversion and commitment to enact the decisions of that Chapter. This work will lead the Order to its next General Chapter with new insights on its tradition. It will have new vision for cultural and ecclesial engagement. Eyes and hearts will be clearer, and new meanings and challenges will come to light. For an elective Chapter, the brothers will let themselves be guided by the Spirit to elect whoever is able to direct the Order in its commitment and mission and its continual 14 cosmo.osm@gmail.com

15 July - August 2013 COSMO 7-8 openness to the Will of God for the Order. This goes beyond choosing those one likes more or less, or those who would be good administrators. And so the election of those who take charge is always preceded by the invocation of the Holy Spirit in the opening solemn Mass of the Chapter. The Spirit will give everyone the necessary light, especially when fervently asked to do so. Asking for the light of the Spirit before elections really means asking for a purity of heart that only God can give. And this gift will be shown throughout the process of discernment, until the Holy Spirit shows who is to be elected. God does not have a candidate for an election. God leaves full responsibility for an election with the capitular friars, but always uniting Himself to the choice made. The election of a new Prior General and General Councillors will be good or not for the Order in the measure in which the capitular friars achieve good discernment, using all human means and allowing the Holy Spirit to work through them. There are no perfect persons; only God is perfect. Nevertheless, even with whatever limits, the one elected will receive the grace of God, to be used with similar purity of heart. One of the purposes of the General Chapter is to revise the norms that govern the Order. The General Directory for the Order will be presented, and this will doubtlessly need considerable time, because it is something new and will require discussion and voting. The General Chapter will proceed at a humane pace. Its timetable will enable each one to have time for the daily needs of a consecrated person time for common and personal prayer, time for reflection and fraternity, time for rest. It is not a spiritual retreat. The Chapter s listening to the Word of God will happen mainly through everyone s serious and committed review of our tradition and the needs of today. This will be assisted with modern science and technology, through simultaneous translations, as well as the important crossing of various cultures to really understand what someone is trying to say. It is quite normal during a General Chapter for tensions to arise from the variety of trends. Friars from Asia, for example, may see things different to friars from Europe or Africa or North America but this diversity is a complementarity of insights that should en- rich the whole Chapter gathering. The challenge consists in living such tensions in charity and creativity, rather than expecting them to go away. This will bring light and energy to the search for shared solutions. 8. The General Chapter: Planning and Projects After the capitulars study the Agenda of the General Chapter, they will set about making a forward plan for the coming six (or eight) years. They will use past experience and present discernment to project the Order forward in the world, with new challenges, with ways of living out our charism, with renewal, aims and plans for formation, plans to develop our meaningful and lively presences in different places and situations of the Order today. The General Chapter will need to be received by everyone in the Order, and shared likewise by the wider Family of women and men Servants of Mary. The norms produced by the General Chapter will emerge as a new project for the Order. They will bear new fruit to the degree that they match the longings of the rank and file of the Order everywhere. Present projects will be able to grow, and new attitudes will enable the common commitment of the Order to develop everywhere. A new evangelization can emerge from the Order s General Chapter which will lead the Order to engage with the cultures of the world, always firmly based on the foundation-stone who is Christ Jesus cosmo.osm@gmail.com

16 COSMO 7-8 July - August 2013 Conclusion Through its General Chapter the Order is called to look lovingly and compassionately upon the world in which it lives and to which it is sent in mission. There is an avalanche of empty words around. So many negative harsh judgments that curse our world as corrupt. The friars need to be prophets of Good News which will banish wickedness, a culture of death, false secularism and the dictatorship of relativism. History shows that every time a religious Order has experienced a time of great creativity and radical renewal it has been able to be meaningfully and richly present in the culture of its time. It has shown love for that world, and has been able to dedicate its life as a response to the most profound longings of men and women of the time. Those longings become living energy for the world. THE 213 RD GENERAL CHAPTER OF THE ORDER OF FRIAR SERVANTS OF MARY Interview with fra Camille-M. Jacques osm What is a Chapter? Chapter means the meeting of all the friars in a community. By origin the word is monastic. It came from the usage of the monks to begin their meetings with a reading from a chapter of the Rule of life. Gradually the word became used to describe the whole meeting. It was taken up, with variations, by the religious orders of evangelical-apostolic life or the Mendicant orders, among which was the Order of Servants of Mary. Fr. Ángel M. Camarillo López, osm Some of these thoughts come from : ARMAND VEILLEUX, ocso [Article in Vida Religiosa 82 (1997) pp ] and GIUSEPPE SCARVAGLIERI, Il Capitolo generale, Preparazione Celebrazione Attuazione, Milan, Ancora, What is a General Chapter? The Order of Friar Servants of Mary is present in five continents and numbers about 750 friars. It would not be possible to gather all the friars into a single meeting. Therefore the Order has legal structures (it has the subdivision of Provinces and Vicariates) that allow the Servants of Mary in different lands and regions to organise and govern themselves. At regional or national levels the friars hold Provincial or Vicarial Chapters. At the general level there is the General Chapter. This is attended by the outgoing General Council, by the friar in charge in each Province or Vicariate, and by a number of delegates to the Chapter. At the General Chapter the Prior General and his Councillors are elected. The Chapter has responsibility for examining and planning the common projects of the Order cosmo.osm@gmail.com

17 July - August 2013 COSMO 7-8 Location of the Chapter: Pietralba For many years the General Chapter was always celebrated in a priory of the Order. After the Second Vatican Council, in the period 1968 to 1983, the Order of Friar Servants of Mary was principally engaged in the revision of its Constitutions (definitively approved in 1987). This work, which drew in the involvement of all the friars of the Order, led to the choice of a different location for the General Chapter, away from a priory of the Order. As well as this there were special or extraordinary General Chapters every three years ( ). After the definitive approval of the renewed Constitutions in 1987, the Order gave most of its attention to restructuring, but it continued to gather for General Chapter in places other than its own priories. This year, however (2013) the Order has chosen a priory of the Order for its General Chapter venue, namely Pietralba. The last time the Order held its General Chapter in a priory of the Order was in 1965, at the Priory of Santissima Annunziata in Florence. The 213 rd General Chapter During their history, the Friar Servants of Mary celebrated a General Chapter every year from the first one in 1256 until Then it was every three years from 1347 to 1618, and every six years from 1619 to the present day. The coming Chapter at Pietralba will be the 213 th of the Order. Agenda For the 213 th General Chapter, the General Council has issued the following as its guiding theme: Behold the handmaid of the Lord: let it be done unto me according to your word (Lk. 1:38). This honours the positive response of the Virgin of Nazareth to the proposal from God presented by the Angel Gabriel. At this juncture in the history of the Church and the Servite Order, in this Year of Faith, it is good for the Friar Servants of Mary to take inspiration again from their Lady, to be attentive to the promptings of the Spirit as she was, ready to welcome the Word of God and put it into practice. Among the various points on the agenda of the Chapter will be the following: appraisal (lights and shades) of the journey and commitment of Servants of Mary in different countries, expressed in reports from those in charge; planning for the coming years; elections: Prior General and Council; Procurator General; General Secretary of the Order; creation of a General Directory, made up mostly of articles transferred from the present Constitutions. News, information and texts regarding the 213 th General Chapter of the Order of Friar Servants of Mary can be found on the website: servidimaria.net 17 cosmo.osm@gmail.com

18 COSMO 7-8 July - August 2013 SUMMARY Editorial 1 PHOTOS Cover. Monte Senario - Pietralba/ Maria Weißenstein. The General Chapters in Servite History General Chapters of the Observance (box) Address to the General Chapter of 1533 (box) From the Address of Paul VI to the General Chapter 1974 (box) List of the General Chapter OSM (centre insert) Notes on the General Chapter in the Order of Friar Servants of Mary The 213 rd General Chapter of the Order of Friar Servants of Mary. Interview with fr Camille- M. Jacques OSM I-IV Paul VI with some capitular friars (1974) 3 General Chapter, Rome, John Paul II and capitular friars, Pilgrimage to Guadalupe Shrine of the Virgin Mary, General Chapter, Mexico City, General Chapter, Ariccia, 2001 COSMO Piazza San Marcello, ROMA Italy tel. (+39) fax (+39) Posta elettronica: cosmo@curiaosm.org 8 General Chapter, Ariccia, 2007 DIRETTORE RESPONSABILE: LINO M. PACCHIN EDITORE: CASA GENERALIZIA SERVI DI MARIA AUTORIZZAZIONE DEL TRIBUNALE DI ROMA N. 55/91 DEL 1 FEBBRAIO 1991 STAMPATO IN PROPRIO COSMO viene inviato gratuitamente a chiunque ne faccia richiesta. Ogni destinatario è tuttavia pregato a inviare un contributo annuo tramite CCP n intestato a: Economato generale osm Piazza San Marcello, ROMA, Italy 18 cosmo.osm@gmail.com

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