What good news for the 18 participants when they learned that the Seniors meeting would be  taking place again in Rome after almost 3 years without it!   And so, we gathered together:12 M.Af.:  1 Rwandese, 1 German, 3 Dutch, 3 British, 3 Belgians and 6 MSOLA: 4 Canadians, 1 British and 1 French, accompanied by Bernard Ugeux -Belgian. – and Terry Madden- British.

We received a great welcome from the different groups present in the M.Af. generalate. The convivial spirit of the house helped us to feel at home and make the most of the gift both our institutes had offered us:  a pilgrimage, a journey towards ourselves, our brothers and sisters and God.

Among the highlights of this special time were the joy of meeting again – sometimes after many years, meeting others for the first time and becoming aware of the large number of young M. Af. studying here in Rome. 

We appreciated the content and the pace of the program which was well adapted to our stage of life, allowing time for personal reflection, prayer , sharing and  socialising…We  enjoyed the visits to the Services of the  House, to Pisai, Assisi and  the meetings  with  our General Teams and bursars.

We are especially grateful to Bernard whose long experience of these meetings enriched us so much and to Terry who, at short notice, was called upon to replace Helga as co-animator.   We admired his courage to embark upon such an adventure!

And now, as this experience draws to a close, we feel more equipped to go forth and age gracefully, ready to live our Pope’s invitation:  “We need to live our faith with a young heart, with Christ the heart never grows old.”

Various authors participating to the session.