The Finance Commission held its first meeting of the Sexennium on 11-12 June 2019 at the General Curia in Rome. It was chaired by the Bursar General, Bro. Rudolf Knopp. In his opening address to the meeting, the Prior General, Bro. Jesús Etayo, spelt out the many tasks that lay ahead of the Commission, focusing in particular on what needed to be done to comply with the 2019 General Chapter’s lines of action. Wishing them a fruitful meeting, the Prior General expressed his confidence that the new team would continue the Commission’s valuable work accomplished in the last Sexennium.

The new members of the Commission are: Brother José Augusto Gaspar Louro, 3^rd General Councillor, Rome, Mr Antonio Barnaba of the Rome Province, and Mr Ansgar Dieckhoff of the Bavarian Province.

The following members were confirmed in office: Brother Rudolf Knopp, Bursar General, Brother Joaquim Erra Mas, 1^st General Councillor, Rome, Rag. Pietro Cacciarelli, Bursar General, Rome, Mr Adolf Inzinger of the Austrian Province, Vienna, and Mrs Dolores Saenz of the Province of Aragon, Barcelona. Dr Patrizio Pasqualetti of Tiber Island Hospital, Rome, will continue to assist the General Bursary with collecting the Order’s care statistics.

The following agenda items were transacted at the meeting:

Examination of the 2017 care statistics;

Examination of the General Curia’s 2018 financial statements;

Report on the collection of the Centres’ 2017 financial data (Europe and America regions);

Deciding the procedures for collecting the Centre’s financial data in the Africa and Asia-Pacific regions;

The duties of the Commission to comply with the 2019 General Chapter guidelines;

The Rules governing the Finance Commission;

Discussion on relations between a PJP and the General Curia under Canon law and civil law;

Initial ideas on drafting a “financial directory” for the Order;

Initial ideas on drafting administrative rules for the Provinces and centres;

Initial ideas on defining the composition of the Provinces’ stable patrimony;

Initial ideas for drafting a “charismatic plan” (administrative part) for the Order;

Initial discussion on revising the system for the breakdown of the Provinces’ contributions to cover the General Curia’s financial requirements;

Discussion on how the Finance Commission can help the General Councillors when preparing the General Canonical Visitations.