The Extended General Council of the Congregation met in Waterloo, Ontario, in Canada, on September 23-29, 2015. The Council, composed of the General Council and the Provincial Superiors, has the task of supporting the Superior General on his mission of strengthening unity, caring for the development of community life in the provinces and the region, and ensuring fidelity to the charism of the Congregation. This year’s meeting included theimportant elements of the mutual exchange of information and reports on the implementation of resolutions of the General Chapter, as well as issues related to the activities and development of the Tanzanian Mission of the Resurrectionists.
The meeting, being held outside of Rome, presented an opportunity to visit the confreres and places associated with our history and work. This objective was first fulfilled by a visit to the campus of St. Jerome’s University, where there is a statue of Fr. Louis Funcken, C.R., who in 1864 founded St. Jerome's College, seven years after the arrival of the first Resurrectionist in America, his brother Fr. Eugene Funcken, C.R. This humble Resurrectionist college was one of the principal foundations of the present-day University of Waterloo, one of the largest universities in Canada.
The EGC members also visited the first Resurrectionist foundation in America, St. Agatha Church, and the neighboring Sorrowful Mother Shrine, built by Fr. Eugene Funcken, C.R., located in a cemetery which now contains his remains and those of other early CRs in Canada. The group shared a prayer especially for recently deceased members of the Ontario-Kentucky Province at their resting place, the cemetery across from Sacred Heart Parish in Kitchener.
In the photo above at St. Jerome’s campus are (left to right): Fr. Krzysztof Swol, Provincial of Polish Province; Fr. Wojciech Mleczko, translator for the EGC meeting; Procurator General Fr. Evandro Miranda Rosa; Vicar General (and econom) Fr. Tim Uniac; Superior General Fr. Bernard Hylla; USA Provincial Fr. Gene Szarek; Secretary General Fr. Jim Gibson; Fr. Luciano Piotrowski, Superior of South American Region; and Fr. Murray McDermott, Provincial of the Ontario-Kentucky Province.
Posted on Sep 2015,
