At the end of March, the Provinces received the first draft of the 2019 General Chapter working document and in the coming months the Order’s Regions will be asked to submit joint Regional proposals based on their own situations, for the 6 chapters which make up the Chapter Document.  There is also a 7^th chapter for the regions to suggest other topics if they consider them important for the future of the Order. At the next meeting of the Preparatory Commission in July 2017, the Regions’ proposals will be analysed and incorporated into the Chapter Document.

The 6 chapters in the Document are entitled:

1. The Brothers in the Community

2. The Brothers as part of the Saint John of God Familhy

3. The Saint John of God Family

4. Bearing witness to Hospitality

5. Structures for the future

6. International Cooperation.

The first draft of the Document was written by the Preparatory Commission appointed by the General Definitory in January 2016. The Commission has met twice already, the first time in December 2016, and the second in March 2017. The next meeting will  be held in July 2017. The members of the Commission are:4

Brother Rudolf Knopp, first General Councillor, President

Brother Pascal Ahodegnon, 4^th General Councillor

Brother Massimo Villa, Lombardy-Veneto Provincial Superior

Brother José Antonio Soria, Andalusia Provincial Superior

Brother Dairon Meneses, Colombia

Brother Léopold Gnami, Kenya

Brother Binish Mulackal, India (Vatican Pharmacy Community)

Mrs Sharon Balmaine, Ireland

Mr Antoine Soubrier, France

Mrs Silvia Farina, General Curia, Secretary.

The purpose of the first draft of the Document is to acquaint the Regions with it and get them to come up with concrete proposals in terms of their own particular situations. In the past, the problem with the Chapter Documents was that they over-generalised issues, with the result that the proposals were not down-to-earth enough. Moreover, in the past, the Preparatory Commissions were accused of being ‘Eurocentric’. To avoid falling into the same mistakes again we decided to take a different approach. The intention is to give a voice to the individual Regions. This phase in the Preparatory Commission’s work must be completed by August 2017 because after that date the work in the Provinces will focus on preparing for the 2018 Provincial Chapters. The Preparatory Commission will obviously continue its work in the meantime because there are still many more details to be hammered out and to prepare.

In addition to the Preparatory Commission (which will deal with the contents of the Chapter agenda) the General Definitory will appoint an Organising Commission to deal with the logistical and practical aspects of the Chapter, such as organising the arrivals and departures of the participants, animating leisure time and accompanying the deliberations on a daily basis.

The 69^th General Chapter 2019 – the points already decided upon:

-  The motto:

Building the future of Hospitality

- The dates:

14 January-5 February, 2019

- The Venue:

Villa Aurelia, Curia Generalizia dei Sacerdoti Del Sacro Cuore di Gesù (Dehonians), www.villaaurelia.net

- The Moderator for the discernment phase prior to the elections:

The Claretian Father Juan Carlos Martos, (who has already worked with us on severak occasions).

- The logo