On the occasion of the General Assembly of the Visitation from 18 to 28 September in Annecy, a meeting with Sister Marie-Thérèse, superior of The Visitation of Annecy and the assistant general, Father François Corrignan will be held.
The diocese is invited to the Eucharistic celebration of Sunday 24 September at the Basilica of the Visitation of Annecy. Mass at 9:30 am
THE VISITATION in assembly
The general assembly is represented by the federations of the 17 federations of the world and by the delegates who are elected by the monasteries of the whole world.
This assembly is usually held every eight years. It is organized to recapture the life of the order, to discern how to actualize its charism. Today we have 153 monasteries around the world.
MAN IS THE PERFECTION OF THE UNIVERSE,
THE SPIRIT IS THE PERFECTION OF MAN,
LOVE IS THE PERFECTION OF THE SPIRIT
AND CHARITY IS THE PERFECTION OF LOVE
SAINT FRANÇOIS DE SALES
THE CHARISM
We all have one and the same charism, but depending on the situation of the monastery concerned, our way of living among the population can vary. The Visitation is based on community life, charity, love of God and neighbor.
WHAT GUIDES YOUR GENERAL ASSEMBLY?
It has been more than twenty years since our order has lived through a general assembly. We have been preparing for this meeting since February 2016; there has been a lot of reflection, questions prepared by our assistant general, Father Francois Corrignan. These questions have been studied by all the monasteries and the answers have been sent to the monastery of Annecy and a commission appointed, to study all its answers. From these replies a synthesis was made and the assembly was sent to all the federations.
Let us recall that each monastery of the Visitation is autonomous, but the patron saints have always wished that there should be mutual assistance between them. We must also speak of the charism of the Visitation, this gratuitous and particular gift made to Saint Francis and Saint Jeanne, and the Order wonders how this gift is lived today. Francis de Sales did not speak of charism to the sisters of the Visitation, but of the spirit of the Visitation. It is necessary to know what is the spirit of a community, of a congregation, what is the purpose for which it was founded, and the means of achieving it. This gift remains the same at the beginning of the century in the way of living it, it adapts to time and place while keeping the spirit: humility and gentleness. There is a great expectation on the part of the different Visitation monasteries for this appointment of September, they are happy and pray for it. The sisters worked hard on the preparatory questionnaire that was sent to them.
A slogan was chosen: let us drink from the same source, together, on a path of hope. It is this dynamic that the organizers wish to develop during the Assembly.
Guidance will be given, with subsequent implementation. From the canonical point of view there will be some changes in the constitutions, the statutes, to be in accordance with the code of today. A new dynamic and a stronger sense of belonging should emerge, especially for the Visitations of France, for Annecy remains for each of them the point of reference, the “source”.
Finally, Fr. Francois repeats the words of Mgr. Boivineau on the occasion of the funeral of Mother Marie-Hélène: “What would Annecy be without the Visitation and what would be the Visitation in the world without the Visitation of Annecy?”
Image: logo created by a sister of the Visitation for the 2017 General Assembly
Interview by Yannick Angelloz-Nicoud
with Sister Marie-Thérèse, VSM and Father Francois Corrignan,
priest of the diocese of Vannes commissioned by the Vatican to assist the Order of the Visitation
Catholic 74, September 2017
http://www.diocese-annecy.fr/actualites/la-visitation-en-assemblee