DISCERNMENT FOR THE ELECTION OF THE GENERAL SUPERIOR

The Chapter delegates started the day with Lauds in language groups.

At 9:00 am, they gathered at the Chapter Room where they prayed to the Holy Spirit and listened to the instructions and exhortations of the Moderator against the temptations that may hinder them from electing the choice of the Spirit.

The Chapter delegates then spent a 30-minute period of Adoration at the Chapel of St. John the Baptist where, at the end, they wrote two names of Sisters whom they believe would be capable of leading the Congregation as General Superior. They deposited the papers on which they wrote the names in a basket placed on a table in front of the altar where the Blessed Sacrament was exposed.

After the Adoration, the Moderator then drew up an alphabetical list of names of the Sisters based on the sheets offered by the Chapter delegates. With the list on hand, the Chapter delegates went to their prayer groups for a time of structured conversations. When they came back to the Chapter Room, a time was given for the Sisters on the list who wanted to address the assembly regarding their dispositions.

The Moderator called for a climate of silence even as she instructed the Capitulants to engage in deep one-on-one conversations that would let them get to know more the Sisters who were on the list.

At 3:00 pm, the Capitulants gathered again in the Chapel for a time of Adoration. After 30 minutes, the Moderator asked them to write just one name on a sheet of paper. As in the morning, they placed the sheets in a basket in front of the altar. The Moderator then drew up a much shorter list of names that she distributed to the Capitulants.

The Capitulants were instructed to make themselves available in the Chapter Room and in the adjacent Hall to ask and answer questions that would help them discern whom to vote for the election of the Superior General. A celebration of the Holy Eucharist, integrated with Vespers, followed.

The day ended with a beautiful and meaningful ritual of the Deposition of the Cross of Saint Marie Rivier. At 8:30 in the evening, the assembly gathered in the Chapel. After the prayers to the Holy Spirit and readings, Mother Maria dos Anjos, surrounded by her Council, took off, kissed and placed the Cross of our Foundress on the altar as a sign that her mandate and her council for the past six years have been completed.