Hearts On Fire and Work to Do

By Elizabeth Gamarra

(Rome – October 29) – We’re on our way home with our hearts on fire, surrendering ourselves to let the Holy Spirit guide us in fulfilling our Salesian mission. We were blessed to have been able to share this experience with Cooperators and delegates from 66 countries. There were 42 SDB delegates and 38 FMAs among the 300+ in attendance, plus 10 administrative members who made this experience unique and heaven-sent.

The retreat house (an hour away from downtown Rome) can house 1,000 people and has amazingly beautiful grounds!

Simultaneous translation was available in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Polish, etc. We had a band of outstanding musicians—all young Cooperators from Argentina who paid their way to attend this Congress to play at all the Masses, entertain us during breaks and the big showcase (entertainment) from provinces from all over the world. They were so good that Fr. Angel Fernandez rolled up his sleeves and joined them playing the guitar!

We will share many special moments with you and our local centers. We have a lot of work ahead of us in our process of becoming co-responsible and more autonomous in the months ahead.