Fr. Raúl Maraví, O.Carm.
The geographical region of the Americas covers a vast territory that is rich in its variety of cultures and centuries of history. The Carmelite friars are present and exercising ministry in thirteen different countries, from Canada in the north down to Argentina in the south.
We began 2015 in South America, where along with the Prior General we took part in threeimportant assemblies: the Titus Brandsma General Delegation in Colombia, the Provincial Commissariat in Peru and the Provincial Commissariat in Bolivia. In each of these assemblies we met our Carmelite brothers and with them discussed a number of projects, and talked about the challenges in each different place. In addition, we were able to meet members of the wider Carmelite Family, the cloistered nuns in Peru, Carmelite sisters in Bolivia and Peru, and various groups of lay Carmelites who work very closely with the friars in different evangelisation programmes, especially among the most needy in each of these three countries.
Between the 9th and the 13th of February, 2015, a meeting of the superiors, delegates and bursars of the Americas took place in Sao Paolo, Brazil. The Bursar General, Fr. Carl Markelz joined us for that meeting, which was attended by fifteen friars representing almost all the Carmelite entities of the continent. We were sorry not to have our brothers from Venezuela with us. They were not able to attend because of the difficult economic and social situation in their country, but they sent a report and a series of suggestions to the meeting via email. In the course of the gathering, people spoke about the need for more creative planning with a view to generating local resources, given the aging process and the decrease in economic power of the provinces of origin. The superiors and delegates also had a wide discussion on the problems that are affecting the area of initial formation in the different countries at the moment. They decided for the next three or four years to have an intensive course of integral formation for students in formation and young formation directors in the Americas.
In addition to the fraternal visits, another of our responsibilities is to conduct canonical visitations of the different entities in each geographical area. From the 20th to the 30th of May, 2015, along with Fr. Michael Farrugia, the Procurator General, we visited the Commissariat of the Antilles that includes Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. As part of the visit we spoke individually with each of the solemnly professed members and met with the aspirants, postulants and simply professed students in groups. The visit was quite positive, highlighting the number of new vocations that join the formation programme in this commissariat. There are plans for further canonical visitations in 2016 following the calendar of international commitments in the General Curia.
The only Provincial Chapter to be celebrated in 2015 in the Americas was the chapter of the North American Province of St. Elias which took place from the 8th to the 12th of June. As is the custom, this chapter was organised very well. The days were busy, with a lot of discussions on various projects and a lot of fraternity. The province of St. Elias has responsibility for two important missions, Vietnam and Trinidad.
As a result of a decision by the superiors and delegates of the Americas, the first intensive formation course for students and young formation directors, took place from the 23rd of July to the 9th of August in our retreat house in Lima, Peru. Twenty-three friars from ten countries took part. The participants spent time studying Carmelite saints and spirituality, visiting some poor areas of the city, sharing times of meditation and prayer and enjoying the experience of the fraternity and internationality of the Order.
In a different setting, during the meeting of the Provincials, Commissaries and Delegates of Europe, held in Rome, Italy, in the month of September, we were able to meet with the Prior Provincials of the provinces of Aragon-Castile-Valencia (ACV), Betica (Baet), Catalonia (Cat) (all three in Spain), Italy and Malta, to talk about the future of their missions in Spanish speaking Latin America: the Antilles (ACV), Venezuela (Baet) and Venezuela (Cat), Colombia (Italy) and Bolivia (Malta). The five provincials underlined the importance and urgency of strengthening the joint formation programmes in the Americas. In addition, they expressed their concerns about the structure of the Order that does not help to unite the different small entities in the region. These leaders asked us to develop a project to study the viability of creating one or more General Commissariats in Spanish speaking Latin America.
In conjunction with our Discalced Carmelites brothers, every three years we organise a congress on Carmelite Spirituality, for the O.Carm. and OCD families in Latin America. This time the event was held in San Salvador, and went from the 26th to the 31st of October, 2015. The chosen theme was “Teresa: woman, mystic and prophet: A window of hope for Latin America”. The participants included both Generals, along with 130 others, made up of friars, cloistered nuns, sisters, hermits and lay Carmelites from the seventeen countries in the hemisphere.
In addition to being the Councillor General for the Americas, we are also responsible for the General Commission for Laity and Carmelite Youth, which met in Rome, Italy from the 23rd to the 28th of April. This commission continues its work of communication through an E-Bulletin, and through formation, with a revision of the programme of formation for the Carmelite Third Order, which in turn will be adapted to suit other groups of lay Carmelites. By the same token, we led a meeting of the Committee for Carmelite Schools which was held from the 12th to the 15th of July in Barcelona, Spain, and in which attention was given to the final details for the next Carmelite Schools Congress to be held at the end of April 2017 in Chicago, U.S.A.
We would like to end by saying that in the American continent we find great hope for the future. As we end this short report, we have 181 students in initial formation: 17 in the U.S.A., 63 in Brazil, and 101 in Spanish speaking Latin America. During the year since January we have tried to visit all the formation houses and to encourage the young people who wish to live out their calling to Carmel. May the Lord continue to bless us with more and good vocations.
