A brief information from the CCXIV General Chapter 2019

Friday, October 25, 2019

Eucharistic Celebration and Lauds

The Chapter Assembly meets at 07:00 for the celebration of Holy Mass and Lauds. The multi-lingual liturgy in memory of our Blessed John Angelo Porro, prepared by the Spanish delegation, is presided by fra Antonio F.M. Nofuentes (ANN/ESP). Fra Paolo M. Orlandini the Prior Provincial (ANN), fra Massimo M. Chechile, fra Alessandro M. Greco, and fra Stephen M. Sibanda concelebrated with him at the altar.

Papal Audience

At 9:00 a.m. the capitulars left the Chapter venue to go to the audience that the Holy Father granted them on the occasion of the CCXIV General Chapter. When they arrived in St. Peter’s Square sufficiently in advance, the capitulars gathered for a few souvenir photos, also attracting the attention of tourists who were curious about the presence of that group of religious.

After a few minutes of eager anticipation, the capitulars welcomed the arrival of the Holy Father with applause and followed in meditative listening to the speech with which the Prior General wished to pay homage to the Pope. At the end of the talk, the Prior General offered the Holy Father an icon of Seven Holy Founders of the Servants of Mary painted by a Contemplative Nun (Monaca del Monastero di Monte Sole della Piccola Famiglia dell’Annunziata in Bologna) and a box of liqueurs from the artisan distillery of Monte Senario.

The Holy Father, in a playful and sincere tone, was thankful for the gifts and replied spontaneously to the Prior General’s speech. He began by recalling the two Servite students whom he met back in 1957 and who spoke to him about the journey of faith of the Seven Holy Founders, who in the 13th century left their profitable activities to devote themselves first to prayer and meditation and then to the apostolate. The Holy Father, who also recalled the Seven Holy Founders of the Servants of Mary in his apostolic exhortation on the call to holiness in the contemporary world (Gaudete et exultate) (n. 141), revealed that every February 17, the liturgical memorial of the Seven Holy Founders, he celebrated Holy Mass with particular fervor thanks to those two students who were known to me more than 60 years ago.

The Pope granted to the Seven Holy Founders the merit of having understood the role of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the divine plan of salvation and of having become her servants, just as Mary made herself the servant of the Lord by accepting his Word (cf. Lk 1:38), and as her Son, Jesus who, although divine in nature, became the servant for salvation of all (cf. Phil 2:7).

He invited the Capitulars not to forget this aspect of service to which they are called in the Church and in the world: “be servants, not masters”.

Prior General’s Greetings: http://www.servidimaria.net/sitoosm/en/ccxiv-cg/col/colcn18a.pdf

Greetings of the Holy Father: http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/en/bollettino/pubblico/2019/10/25/191025c.html

Continuing the praise of the virtues of the Blessed Virgin and the Seven Holy Founders, he invited the Servants of Mary to be bearers of Hope and not to let themselves be overcome by discouragement during the difficult moments of life, just like Mary, who in her life, walked the path of faith that led her from Nazareth to Pentecost through Calvary. Energy for Hope, adds the Pontiff, is the prayer that, united with faith, can perform miracles: “Do not leave prayer, which is the foundation of your lives!

At the end of the visit, the Holy Father prayed the prayer of the Angelus with the capitulars, whom he then wanted to meet and greet one by one, giving them a rosary as a gift.

The capitulars evidently pleased and reassured by that meeting greeted the Pope and returned to the Chapter Venue in Ariccia, where they shared lunch. To ensure that everyone had the opportunity to ponder and relive the most intense moments of that prophetic meeting, the rest of the day was left free from commitments.

http://www.servidimaria.net/sitoosm/en/ccxiv-cg/col/colcn18.pdf