{"id":15227,"date":"2026-03-10T07:50:40","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T07:50:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wordpress\/index.php\/2026\/03\/10\/gc29-moving-toward-elections-with-a-clear-awareness-of-the-current-reality-of-religious-life\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T07:50:40","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T07:50:40","slug":"gc29-moving-toward-elections-with-a-clear-awareness-of-the-current-reality-of-religious-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/donboscoguwahati.org\/index.php\/2026\/03\/10\/gc29-moving-toward-elections-with-a-clear-awareness-of-the-current-reality-of-religious-life\/","title":{"rendered":"GC29: Moving Toward Elections with a Clear Awareness of the Current Reality of Religious Life"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header pos-rel\">\n<div class=\"read-details\">\n<div class=\"entry-header-details af-cat-widget-carousel\">\n<div class=\"figure-categories read-categories figure-categories-bg categories-inside-image\">\n<ul class=\"cat-links\">\n<li class=\"meta-category\">\n                             <a class=\"morenews-categories category-color-1\" href=\"http:\/\/localhost\/ingoldsite\/index.php\/category\/gc29\/\" aria-label=\"GC29\"><br \/>\n                                 GC29<br \/>\n                             <\/a>\n                        <\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<h1 class=\"entry-title\">GC29: Moving Toward Elections with a Clear Awareness of the Current Reality of Religious Life<\/h1>\n<div class=\"aft-post-excerpt-and-meta color-pad\">\n<div class=\"entry-meta author-links\">\n<p>                            <span class=\"item-metadata posts-author byline\"><br \/>\n                                            <i class=\"far fa-user-circle\"><\/i><br \/>\n                          <a href=\"http:\/\/localhost\/ingoldsite\/index.php\/author\/admin_gp\/\"><br \/>\n              Admin-ING      <\/a><br \/>\n                    <\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span class=\"item-metadata posts-date\"><br \/>\n                    <i class=\"far fa-clock\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><br \/>\n                    March 25, 2025                <\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"aft-comment-view-share\">\n      <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<p><!-- .entry-header --><\/p>\n<p>        <!-- end slider-section --><\/p>\n<div class=\"read-img pos-rel\">\n<div class=\"post-thumbnail full-width-image\">\n          <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"655\" height=\"436\" src=\"https:\/\/donboscoguwahati.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/7-16.jpg\" class=\"attachment-morenews-featured size-morenews-featured wp-post-image\" alt=\"7\" loading=\"lazy\">        <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"color-pad\">\n<div class=\"entry-content read-details\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>(ANS \u2013 Turin)<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 The fifth week of the 29th General Chapter (GC29) in Turin-Valdocco has been particularly intense. All three thematic areas under discussion have now reached the stage of analysis and proposal, requiring the Chapter members to shift their focus among multiple key issues.<\/h3>\n<p>Additionally, discussions included a proposal for an Article in the Regulations on Social Works, reviewed by the six Commissions, which will determine any necessary regulatory changes. Another significant moment was an update from Fr. Pier Fausto Frisoli, in his role as Procurator, regarding the status of ongoing processes related to cases of abuse.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Fr. Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s Reflection on the Work Done<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Over the past week and the upcoming one, dedicated to the election of those who will lead and guide the Congregation for the next six years, Fr. Pascual Ch\u00e1vez, Rector Major Emeritus, delivered a compelling summary on Saturday, March 22. Addressing the 220 Salesians gathered in Valdocco, he acknowledged that \u201cthe Holy Spirit, the true protagonist of this Salesian Pentecost, has guided us thus far and will continue to do so in the coming days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Call for Renewal in Religious Life<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As a former Rector Major, Fr. Ch\u00e1vez shared his reflections in a deeply fatherly tone, focusing on the spiritual journey of each Salesian. He pointed out that \u201cthese years of transformation have shaped a new form of religious life. We now have new wineskins, and little by little, new wine is being produced.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, he also recognized that the idea of \u201cnewness\u201d can feel uncomfortable, particularly when it implies spiritual renewal, professional updating, and pedagogical qualification. This effort toward renewal is not unique to the Salesians, but is being embraced across Catholic religious congregations, as envisioned by Vatican II. He recalled:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen the Superiors General decided to address the theme of the refoundation of religious life, they did so out of an awareness that the call for renewal is urgent.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For the Sons of Don Bosco, this means engaging alongside others who live out different forms of spirituality. Since this renewal is rooted in their spiritual identity, it calls them to return to the origins of the Congregation and reclaim its unique mission.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Perspective and Guiding Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Fr. Ch\u00e1vez then offered the assembly a clear direction for the future:<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe strength of religious life lies in its countercultural nature, in its opposition to complacency and limitless material growth without transcendence. Once again, the challenge is one of identity\u2014not based on external elements like attire or structures, but on a deep experience of God that transforms our lives and turns them upside down. It is about building communities that live in a radically new way, offering alternative models to the dominant culture.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This renewal of Salesian life is directly linked to an honest assessment of the realities within the societies where Salesian communities operate. His words resonated strongly with the Chapter members, prompting 19 interventions in the assembly, each offering personal insights in response to three key questions that will shape the coming days:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 What choices must we make?<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 What priorities should we set?<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 What is the profile of the leaders we should elect?<\/p>\n<p>With these questions in mind and heart, the Chapter memebers now enter the decisive week of the elections for the General Council.<\/p>\n<div class=\"post-item-metadata entry-meta author-links\">\n                                    <\/div>\n<nav class=\"navigation post-navigation\" aria-label=\"Continue Reading\">\n<h2 class=\"screen-reader-text\">Continue Reading<\/h2>\n<div class=\"nav-links\">\n<div class=\"nav-previous\"><a href=\"http:\/\/localhost\/ingoldsite\/index.php\/2025\/03\/25\/vocation-camps-for-post-matric-boys-held-at-jorapara-mendal-and-sirajuli\/\" rel=\"prev\"><span class=\"em-post-navigation\">Previous:<\/span> Vocation Camps for Post Matric Boys Held at Jorapara (Mendal) and Sirajuli<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"nav-next\"><a href=\"http:\/\/localhost\/ingoldsite\/index.php\/2025\/03\/25\/salesian-province-of-guwahati-rejoices-at-the-election-of-don-fabio-attard-sdb-as-the-11th-successor-of-don-bosco\/\" rel=\"next\"><span class=\"em-post-navigation\">Next:<\/span> Salesian Province of Guwahati Rejoices at the Election of Don Fabio Attard SDB as the 11th Successor of Don Bosco<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/nav>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GC29 GC29: Moving Toward Elections with a Clear Awareness of the Current Reality of Religious Life Admin-ING March 25, 2025 (ANS \u2013 Turin)\u00a0\u2013 The fifth week of the 29th General Chapter (GC29) in Turin-Valdocco has been particularly intense. All three thematic areas under discussion have now reached the stage of analysis and proposal, requiring the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13834,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15227","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gc29"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/donboscoguwahati.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15227","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/donboscoguwahati.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/donboscoguwahati.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donboscoguwahati.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donboscoguwahati.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15227"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/donboscoguwahati.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15227\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donboscoguwahati.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/donboscoguwahati.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15227"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donboscoguwahati.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15227"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/donboscoguwahati.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15227"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}