Although already a Regional Chapter was celebrated on June 6, the Region felt it was appropriate to meet once again from October 1 – 3 in assembly in Kingston at the Providence Spirituality Centre. There was no topic that made it urgent to meet and yet it was very beneficial. The Region is at the end of an administration and it was worthwhile to explore where it finds itself today. It wasconsidered beneficial to tell each other about our personal events and experiences of this past year and the changes that have taken place in the three communities. “It was a gentle and very useful gathering,” said Herman Falke after it was all over. It is good to know that normally Herman Falke is not so effusive about meetings and assemblies. May be at age 90 he is turning a new leaf.
On Tuesday evening, the community gathered for Eucharist and then at a local restaurant to celebrate the anniversaries of religious life and ordination. Jim Casper and John van den Hengel have completed 60 years, Peter McKenna 40 years and Paul Tennyson 25 years of religious life while Aegidius Warsito and Yuliwan Maslim remembered their 25 years of ordination.
It was a colourful gathering. The Toronto community has a decided Canadian minority of two: Jim Casper and Peter McKenna. It also counts Aegi Warsito and Yuliwan Maslim, our Indonesian pair, Willyans Prado Raposo and Antonio Maria Pereira Resende, our South Brazilian component, Martin Antonio Kadamattu from India, and two Vietnamese: John Dinh Thé Hung and Vincent Do Van Thoan. In Montréal the balance Canadian and those from “away” is also almost 50 %. This presence of confreres from other entities has reshaped the life of the Region. It made the assembly a wonderful experience.
