What is a General Chapter?

The Generalate of the School Sisters of Saint Francis in Rome.

A General Chapter is a special meeting of prayer and planning held at specified times by religious congregations.  For the School Sisters of Saint Francis, our General Chapters are held every five years at our Generalate in Rome.  This meeting brings together representatives of the Sisters from all the areas where our Sisters minister and live.  This year Sisters will be present from Central Asia, Chile,  Czech Republic, India, Italy,  Slovakia, South Africa and the United States.  The chapter will be held from July 1 – 16, 2011. 

The Chapter consists of two parts, the chapter of affairs and the chapter of election.  The chapter of affairs is a time to reflect upon the past five years and assess where we have been and what we have accomplished for Christ and His Church.  Then we take time to plan where our efforts can best be directed for the next five years.  Our theme this year is “Go out to all the World and tell the Good News!”  After we have a directional statement for our apostolic efforts for the next five years, we will then elect a General Leadership Team who will guide us in our efforts. 

The best part of being an international congregation is the ability to share with Sisters from other parts of the world at these international meetings.  It is so wonderful to find out how our Sisters minister throughout the world and how they spread the values of Franciscan life to so many people.  Although language is a bit of a problem, we manage through translators and a lot of good will. 

We ask that you keep us in prayer during this special time as well as when we return to the United States for our Provincial Chapter on July 21-25, where we will plan how we will carry out the direction set by the General Chapter and then elect our new Provincial Leadership Team.

A view of the Vatican from the road outside our Generalate in Rome.

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