On the 17th day of the Chapter, the General Team was formed. After several days of proposals, consultations, and conversations with different capitulants of the General Chapter, Abzalón presented to the assembly those whom he considered most suitable to form his most direct work team.
The morning began with the usual Communal Wisdom Prayer. A text of Pope Francis from the Encyclical, ‘Laudato Si’, and another text from Fr. Jules Chevalier (MSC Const. n. 21) were used.
There were still some working documents to be voted on before Abzalón presented the General Council. He did so in the last session of the morning. His proposal contained four names, although he made a clarification about the possibility of enlarging this team with some more people that he was unable to specify during the days of consultation at the General Chapter. The four persons who have been elected as part of the General Team were:
- Chris Chaplin, Australian, from the Province of Australia.
- Bernard Mongeau, Canadian, from the Province of the Dominican Republic
- Simon Lumpini, Congolese, from the Francophone Union of Africa
- Franciskus Bram Tulusan, Indonesian, from the Province of Indonesia.
Abzalon also said that he would have people he trusted to develop the different topics discussed at the Chapter and that they would be in direct contact with some of the councilors. For example, Carl Tranter would be in charge of accompanying the provinces of Europe in their process of becoming communities under the Generalate and of the possible formation of the European MSC Union. On the other hand, Humberto Henriques would be accompanying the development of Initial Formation.
For other issues, such as JPIC and communications, Abzalon would also be consulting on the possibility of forming teams with MSC confreres and lay people, under the supervision of a General Assistant.
The election of four members of the General Team, as well as the other proposals for persons responsible for specific areas, were ratified by the capitulants.
The last working session was devoted to the approval of the documents on congregational structures and safeguarding. Both were accepted.
Eduardo Paixão, delegate of the Province of São Paulo, together with Jairo Mendoza, delegate Central America & Mexico, celebrated the day’s Mass. At the end, Abzalón gave a gift to the new members of the General Team. To Chris and Bernard, he gave it by hand, and to Simon and Franciskus, he gave it through their respective Provincials, Yvon César Banackissa and Sam Maranresy.
Eduardo, who presided at the Eucharist, also presented Abzalon with an image of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart, created by Mozambican artisans, in gratitude for his support during the hardest moments of his mission in Mozambique.
