THE SUPERIOR GENERAL &
THE CENTRAL COUNCIL.

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From l. to r.: Juan Ramón Moncada Paz, p.m.é., 3rd assistant; Ergete Tesfaye, p.m.é., Superior General; Bertrand Roy, p.m.é., 1st assistant and Vicar General; Pedro Emilio Ramírez Ramos, p.m.é., 2nd assistant.

At the close of their XV General Assembly, held at the Central House of the Society of Foreign Missions of the Province of Quebec from June 5 to 15, 2023, the members of the Assembly elected a new Superior General and three assistants to form the new Central Council for a five-year term.

We are pleased to announce that Ergete Tesfaye, p.m.é. has been elected Superior General of the Society of Foreign Missions for a five-year term.

Dear members, associates and friends of the SMÉ,
Allow me -- or forgive me -- a jump of five months: from Pentecost to the Mission Sunday. Indeed I would like these lines to be at the same time a follow up of the message I delivered on the occasion of Pentecost Sunday and a new encouragement to each one when, in a way or another, we are all still hurt and affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Let us comfort each other and look for the consolation of the Holy Spirit at this time, when we need new strengths and motivations in our missionary endeavours.
On Pentecost, I implored three gifts of the Holy Spirit that could be effectively helpful for all of us to live through this time of unprecedented crisis: the gift of resilience, to give us energy to rebound in the face of a traumatic experience; the gift of solidarity, to help us maintain our «inters » amidst social distance, confinement and anxiety; finally the gift of communication to maintain our ministries and keep our mission alive through social media and “Tele Mission”. How is the SMÉ? How is each one of us on these three levels of our life?
In the past months, in order to accompany all our missionaries, the Central Council delegated the General Services of SAMIC (Marie-Laure) and Ongoing Formation (René) to reach out to each Local Group asking them to share their experiences related to the pandemic in line with resilience, solidarity and communication. They did an extraordinary work in reaching out each local group and shared in the recent COCO meeting what they have gathered from each group: a huge wealth of experiences!
You all practiced significant degree of resilience in the midst of the pandemic. While practicing prudence, you used creativity in making sense of the experience you are going through. Many of you were able to use this occasion to make good use of the time and reflect profoundly on the meaning, purpose and mystery of life. Your time with God and your community life became really a source of personal resilience, made of healing and growth.
Some of you came face to face with the reality of the pandemic when close family members or friends were infected. The empathy and solidarity accompanied by the constant prayer of the group members became a source of hope and consolation for those who were going through those moments of anxiety.
What you have witnessed can be summarised by the experience of St. Therese of Lisieux, whose feast we celebrated not long ago. For her, God's love enables us not only to rebound from our suffering but also move away from excessive self-preoccupation and become interested in the lives of others. Before the concept was elaborated, St. Thérèse bounced back from the traumas of her infancy and indeed practiced resilience. Closer to us in the SMÉ I cherish the memory of Msgr Gustave Prévost. Let us remember how he practiced resilience in face of the conditions imposed on him (and many other confrères) when he was jailed in China for many years. Instead of pestering against the conditions imposed on us by the infamous Covid-19, may we develop our own discipline of life and grow in interior freedom.
During this time, did we receive the gift of solidarity in our communities and “inters”? From the testimonies we have heard, we can infer many ways were found. At the time when we were called to lockdowns, confinement and other “distanciations”, paradoxically you have explored and created new bounds of fraternal charity.
There has been so many practices of co-responsibility and shared leadership, new ways of supporting each other, using social media, WhatsApp groups, virtual meetings through Zoom… I would dare to call those experiences the actual communion of the saints! “Fratelli tutti” is how Pope Francis names the solidarity of a community giving impulse to human beings to support and help one another and aiming at universal fraternity. In a simple way, we have practiced it among us: Fratelli e Sorelle.
As for the gift of communication, it was also manifest. Indeed, the social media became your means for Tele-Mission, missionary animation, accompaniment, Ad Gentes formation and the sharing of the Eucharist. Without exposing yourselves to unnecessary risk, you were able to reach out to the disadvantaged and assist them in their basic needs. Many of you were able to assist the old, the immigrants and even offer some micro credit services.
Like for various professions and various fields of services, our missionary activities were affected. However, we are grateful for the gift of communication the Spirit offered us. This was evident in the formation programs which were adjusted at our major Formation Centers, namely at MFC and TFCK. It was evident in the General Services and the Local Groups.
In order to assist us and journey with us, the Central Council has entrusted Marie-Laure and Rene to re-visit each Local Group and follow up listening to the sharing of your experiences. Each Local Group will be contacted by them in due time.
I conclude by quoting words from the message of Pope Francis for World Mission Day. "Whom shall I send? This invitation from God’s merciful heart challenges both the Church and humanity as a whole in the current world crisis. Like the disciples in the Gospel we were caught off guard by an unexpected, turbulent storm. We have realized that we are on the same boat, all of us fragile and disoriented, but at the same time important and needed, all of us called to row together, each of us in need of comforting the other…."
As we prepare to celebrate our Centenary under the motto: “To run the risk of the encounter at the service of the Gospel”, let us respond to the call of the Lord and row together by supporting, encouraging and comforting each other.

Roland Laneuville
Superior general