Our Constitutions

On Community

30. 
Gathered together in community in the name
of Jesus Christ,
we are sent to proclaim, by our very lives and activities,
the Good News of the Kingdom.
From His Heart we draw the love
which enables us to live in communion, among ourselves
and with others.
Whatever the service entrusted to us,
we stand together, united in our common mission.

31. 
Through our mutual trust,
the sharing of our prayer and life-experiences,
through our love and loyalty towards one another,
we come to find real joy in living together,
welcoming our gifts and our differences
of culture and mentality.
Our desire to live in mutual love
helps us to overcome our egoism,
and to work through our moments of tension,
open to forgiveness and reconciliation.

32. 
We want to be discerning communities,
living in awareness and sensitivity to the Spirit.
This attitude makes us responsive, in our mission,
to the sufferings and aspirations of our sisters and brothers.
It helps us to respond better to the calls of God
in the world around us, and it enlightens us
to make choices more true to the spirit of the Gospel.

33. 
Our life together is a celebration of the paschal mystery.
As such it calls for a certain self-restraint and asceticism
which places the needs of others before our own:
a life which, through prayer and conversion of heart,
in accordance with the discipline of the Church,
unites us with Christ's offering to His Father;
a life of joy in which we celebrate together
significant moments and feasts which remind us
of Christ's presence and steadfast love for His people.

34. 
We wish to live simply
so as to express our solidarity with those who are poor.
Openness, welcome and sharing with others
will make the community a sign of communion.
We help one another with simplicity, discretion and realism
to live out our relationships with family and friends.
No matter how important the time
spent with others may be,
we shall respect the demands of living
in an apostolic community,
sincerely seeking to be faithful to all our commitments.
We shall reserve some parts of the house for the religious
and we shall create in our community life space for silence,
times and places conducive to reflection, prayer and renewal.
To be better fitted to serve,
we take responsibility for our on-going formation
and use the means of social communication
with prudence, discretion and a critical sense.

35. 
We are particularly attentive to our sisters who are sick
trying to ease their suffering.
Through the Sacrament of the Sick,
they experience the strength and peace of God.
Our elderly sisters by their wisdom and their tenderness
bear witness to God's faithfulness and the joy
of belonging to Him.
Each one receives the encouragement and the affection
of the community,
enabling us all to live out our mission to the end.

36. 
All through life we show our care for one another,
in full activity as in sickness,
in situations which make us painfully aware
of our helplessness,
and at the moment of death.
When one of our sisters is called to the fullness of life,
we confide her to her Creator in our prayers
and in the celebration of the Eucharist
with hope and faith in the resurrection.

37. 
The Eucharistic presence in our communities
is a constant reminder that Christ is the centre
of our life,
inviting us to adore Him individually and in community.
Through the Eucharist we are committed
to live united among ourselves,
to build communion in a divided and unjust world,
and to give ourselves wholeheartedly to others.

38. 
The local superior is at the service
of the life and mission of the community
in a relationship of mutual trust with her sisters.
She is careful to foster communion and co-responsibility,
and to encourage enthusiasm for the apostolate.
She sees to it that community discernment is exercised;
she herself then takes final responsibility for decisions.
With love and simplicity
she fulfills her service of authority and her role as animator.

39. 
Each community draws up its plan,
presents it to the provincial and her council for approval
and is accountable to them once a year.
Periodic evaluations of this plan
help us as a community to review together the quality
and integrity of our life.

40. 
Communication with other communities and provinces
makes us aware of the needs of the whole Body
and more ready to serve wherever we are sent.
Wherever we are, we participate actively
in the life and mission of the Society;
we remain united to all our sisters
in the joy of being called and sent forth
to love as Jesus has loved us.

The Provincial Community

148.
That the Society may respond more effectively to its
mission in any given country or region, it is organized into provinces.
Other types of structure, called districts, can be envisaged according to need.
The superior general, with the consent of her council, has
the responsibility of establishing, modifying, uniting or
suppressing provinces.

149.
The PROVINCIAL SUPERIOR is named by the superior
general, with the consent of her council, and after
consultation with the province concerned. She should have
a sincere love of the Society, be a person who creates
communion, relates well and is sensitive to the signs of the
times. She must be able to work with others in a spirit of
co-responsibility and discernment so as to give leadership
for the mission of the province.
She governs the province in accordance with the Constitutions 
and exercises authority and the responsibilities of
government with the help of her council.
The final decision rests with her except in those cases 
provided for in the Constitutions.

She represents the province with respect to the civil and ecclesiastical authorities.

Her mandate is for three years, renewable once.

She must be finally professed for at least five years.

150.
The members of the PROVINCIAL COUNCIL are
professed of perpetual vows, chosen by the provincial after
consultation with the province and with the approval of the
superior general. They must be persons who complement
one another, are capable of working as a team and are a
support to the provincial in her work. They live our spirit of
communion among themselves and with members of the
province. The provincial and her council work together in a
spirit of discernment which demands time for reflection,
prayer and discussion.

There will be at least two councillors.

151.
The provincial with the help of her council is responsible for the leadership 
of the province and for its spiritual and apostolic direction. She welcomes the initiatives taken
by individual religious and by communities.
She coordinates the efforts of all in the province to live the mission of the Society, in communion with the local
Church, in such a way that the religious can assume their co-responsibility.

The provincial with the help of her council is responsible:

• to know the reality of the country and discern its needs
• to give direction to the apostolic service of the province in the light of our Constitutions and the needs of the country
• to encourage reflection upon and evaluation of our service of the Church and our life in the province and take appropriate decisions
• to foster communion and ensure the effective participation of everyone through subsidiary structures
• to discern with people what are the concrete needs in the context of the province's mission, its future planning, and the overall pastoral plan of the area
• to ensure on-going formation in collaboration with those responsible for formation
• to visit the communities regularly
• to maintain communication with the hierarchy of the Church so as to maintain mutual relationships and follow its lawful directives
• to ensure, in collaboration with the provincial treasurer, that the administration of temporal goods is consistent with our commitment to build communion by sharing with those in need, and to encourage this sharing
• to encourage communication among communities and with other provinces
• to foster and extend relations with other religious congregations
• to give the required permission to those who preach to our religious (Canon 765) and for the publication of any writings which treat of religion or morality.(Canon 832)

The provincial sends the religious to their apostolicservice and their community.
She must visit the communities herself, at least every two
years; these visits are a way of strengthening and renewing
spiritual life and apostolic dynamism.
She also has the responsibility for all other matters required by the Institute and the Common Law of the Church.

152.
The co-responsibility of our provincial community
requires a common search for the will of God, a search
which gives vitality to our mission in the Church.
The provincial chapter and the provincial assembly, each
with its own structures, create a climate for this discernment