Approved Minutes of the first day
- The fifth Provincial Chapter of Divine Providence Province began on 27th September, 2021 at 9:30 am with the Recollection in view of the preparation for the Chapter.
- Fr. R. Jayapalan Sdb, the former provincial of Chennai Salesian province, highlighted the 14 habits of highly effective Guanellian, who has to be holy, a lover of the Eucharistic Jesus, committed to the Catholic faith and the Church Magisterium, obedient to the catholic hierarchy and religious superiors, to embody the fruits of the Holy Spirit, Promotes sacraments specially among the youth, constant and vigilant vocation hunter, fearless servant of God in the public square, prudent and transparent person in the community, builder of a spirituality of communion in community, A lover of Mother Mary, Our Lady of Providence, always promotes family values and helps build the catholic families, ready to emulate Christ’s suffering, never takes his eye from his life’s mission, puts his heart and soul to work for the church and the congregation, reaching out to the unreached, thus being a model priest. Followed by the talk at 11 am we had the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and the sacrament of reconciliation.
- Then, we began the Holy Mass presided over by Rev. Fr. A. Soosai Rathinam, SdC, the General Councilor and in his homily he highlighted four elements to be inherited and inculcated from our Holy Founder: to internalize the paternal inheritance of the Father, to take up the responsibility, to reconstruct the unfinished works and to provide the mother, means to serve the congregation.
- At 3 pm with the prayer service organized by Fr. A. Adaikalam, SdC along with the DGMS brothers who invoked the presence of God in the midst of the delegates of the Chapter both in online and offline. The members remembered and paid homage in silence for the two deceased confreres of our province namely Rev. Fr. A. John Bosco and Rev. Fr. Maria Balayesu.
- The fathers invoked the Holy Spirit by singing Veni Creator Spiritu, followed by the lighting of the lamp by Rev. Fr. A. Soosai Rathinam, the General Councilor, Rev. Fr. J. Ronald, the Provincial Superior, Rev. Fr. A. Kulandai Samy, the Vicar Provincial, Rev. Fr. Peter Joseph, the first priest representing our presence in Andhra, and Bro. Carlos, the first confrere from Odisa.
- Then Fr. Provincial asked Fr. Periyanayagam to be the temporary secretary and Frs. Loyola and Vincent to be the temporary tellers for the preliminary acts of the chapter and invited Fr. Loyola to read out the convocation letter to the forum and the delegates of the chapter who were present assured their presence and Fr. Provincial declared the chapter to be officially open.
- Then Fr. Provincial after welcoming everyone present for the chapter invited Rev. Bro. Franco Lain, the link councilor for DPP to address the chapter fathers. In his address he appreciated and acknowledged the presence and contribution of our DPP confreres in being missionaries in all continents. But he also advised that it should not become a motive for pride instead should remind of the responsibility that awaits. He wished the fathers for the successful proceedings of the chapter.
- Then the forum proceeded for the election of the officers: Fr. R. Gnanaraj and Fr. K. Mahesh Benson were elected as Moderators; Fr. M. Periyanayagam and Fr. R. Shantham were elected as secretaries; and Fr. M. Loyola and Fr. M. Vincent were elected as tellers for the 5th Provincial Chapter and each one of them consented.
- Subsequently, Rev. Fr. J. Ronald, Provincial Superior presented his elaborate and comprehensive report of the province in two sessions in the following categories: 1. Theme of the Fifth Provincial Chapter, 2. Confreres, 3. Houses and Mission, 4. Province. In the first session he presented the first two categories and after the break and the vespers animated by Fr. Benson, he continued with the presentation of the rest of categories. It was almost like a photograph of the reality of the entire province with the challenges we face and the proposals for the better future. Asked by Fr. Moderator, the chapter members gave a standing ovation to Fr. Provincial for his precise and elaborate report. The chapter fathers appreciated the report and clarified their doubts with Fr. Provincial.
- Then Fr. Dennis M. Weber, the Provincial Treasurer presented the financial report of the province with the statistical data of the assets, which was followed by the presentation of the elaborate report from Rev. Fr. S. Francis, the in charge of the Indian societies and Trust, who highlighted the present difficulties in dealing with the new rules of the Indian Government and the restrictions over the foreign contributions and the maintenance of the accounts with various banks. Both of them gave clarity over the doubts raised by the members.
- Then Fr. R. Gnanaraj, the moderator in consult with Fr. Provincial informed that the composition of the groups and the work explanations are cancelled due to the exceeding of the time which will be organized the next day before the session with the presidency council team and working team. Finally the first day came to an end with the prayer said by Rev. Fr. Francis.
- Secretaries
