(ZENIT News / Aparecida, Brazil, 10.01.2025).- Last Monday, January 6, the General Assembly opened of the Sodalitium of Christian Life, event that gathers the perpetual members in the city of Aparecida, Brazil. This meeting, which will extend until January 31, is considered the greatest instance of discernment and decision in the life of the Sodalitium, and a key moment to renew its apostolic mission.
With the theme “To Confirm Our Call and Election” (2 Peter 1:10), the members began this time of reflection with a four-day Spiritual Retreat, from January 6-9. During this initial period, they will be dedicated to prayer, seeking a profound interior disposition to address the tasks that await them.
The Assembly is being held in Aparecida, a city that, in addition to its known hospitality, is the home of the emblematic Shrine of Our Lady Aparecida, visited annually by more than three million pilgrims.
Presence of Pontifical Delegates
This 6th General Assembly of the Sodalitium of Christian Life, enjoys the presence of Cardinal Gianfranco Ghirlanda, S.J., and of Friar Guillermo Rodríguez, O.F.M. who have accompanied up-close the Community’s renewal process.
Cardinal Ghirlanda, an outstanding Italian Jesuit and Consultor of several Holy See Dicasteries, has given his fundamental support in the formation and deepening of the sodality’s charism since 2017. His participation includes his accompaniment in the elaboration of the Ratio Formationis. For his part, Friar Guillermo Rodríguez, O.F.M., Mexican Franciscan and Canon Law expert, has played a crucial role as Delegate ad nutum of the Sodalitium, advising the General Government in this renewal stage under the Holy See’s guidelines.
Renewal of the Community
Among the most relevant points on the agenda are the election of a new Superior General and his Council for the 2025-2030 period. Revisited, likewise, is the Community’s current state and the “text of revision and modifications of the Constitutions,” which will be presented for its approval.
This document, fruit of the process initiated in 2020, and developed accompanied by the Church, seeks to express with greater clarity the Sodalitium’s charism. Once approved in the Assembly, it will be sent to the Holy See for its final revision.
