There is a growing differentiation of personal journeys, undoubtedly linked to the variety of contexts of origin, given the different countries of the various Provinces in the two Regions, and this requires an increasingly intense customisation of the accompaniment and formation paths prior to the novitiate. This was also one of the points insisted on by Fr Stefano Martoglio, Vicar of the Rector Major, in the recorded video-message he sent for the meeting: do not be in a hurry! The prenovitiate does not have a fixed or rigid time frame. It is the aptitudes that count and the maturation processes that allow them to be verified, purified, and to grow: hence the criteria for assessing suitability.
In the exchange with the No vice Director and the team, the dynamics that most favour the path emerged, with elements common to today's very promising young people, such as a openness and frankness which facilitates accompaniment. Likewise, recurring elements that slow down or block the formation process of the novitiate were highlighted and clarified. It is very important for prenovitiates to keep these frequently recurring limitations in mind, despite the uniqueness of each young person's story.
The ‘Conversation in the Spirit’ afternoon was very fruitful, where sharing followed the format adopted at the Synod on Synodality in the Church and the 29th General Chapter. Fr Andrea Bozzolo, Rector Magnificus of the Pontifical Salesian University, introduced these well intervening online.
There was reflection and time devoted to personal study of the final document of GC29, the Rector Major’s six-year programme, and in particular to the chapter of the draft of the new Ratio dedicated to the prenovitiate.
At the conclusion there was a clear consensus on a series of ‘non-negotiable’ aspects, i.e. points that are decisive for those who will be novices and no less for the novices as a whole and the important dynamics that are created among them, since their maturity as a group is the fruit of the maturity of each individual. There is no hurry, as Fr Martoglio encourages: what is essential must be taken care of and guaranteed, activating processes to support discernment and growth that respond to the multiple contexts and personal situations encountered.
As a result of the meeting, it was decided that a shared digital platform will be put in place for the exchange of useful materials, to be added to what has already been shared and made available in these days. And a face-to-face meeting between European novices and prenovices is already on the calendar for next spring.
