During the 2025 General Chapter of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary, held in Brazil from July 9 to 31, the delegates spent days in prayer, listening, and discernment, united as Women of Prophetic Hope, Walking Together, Risking the New, That All May Have Life. “The Chapter was a very joyful experience of our shared communion in mission, and of our unity in diversity. As Pope Francis said of the Synod, the Holy Spirit was the protagonist of our Chapter, inspiring and guiding us towards harmony. So, we come to this moment with a deep sense of gratitude for the wisdom, discernment, and deep listening that shaped our reflections and discernment.” Sister Margaret Fielding, Institute Leader at the Closing Ritual.
Remarkable shifts in several areas marked this Chapter. While RSHM communities in the Northern Hemisphere are aging and diminishing in number, communities in the Southern Hemisphere are much younger. Because of the present Institute Leadership Council’s (ILC) decision, a significant number of sisters from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Brazil were present, both as formal delegates and as support staff for the Chapter. This enabled all of us to experience in a more fulsome way the international character of our Institute and the shift from older to younger Institute members. The vitality, competence, and maturity of the younger members were striking and enriching for all of us. Throughout the Chapter, special efforts were made to pair sisters from. various areas to get to know one another better through two-by-two “walks,” meetings in same or mixed language groups, table groups, and working with one another, preparing eucharistic and non-eucharistic liturgies.
An important part of the Chapter is the election of new Institute Leadership and the ritualizing of this transfer of leadership. Sisters Margaret Fielding, Paré Moreira, Ana Luísa Pinto, Sipiwe Phiri, and Monica Walsh, members of the outgoing ILC, lit the candles of the new ILC: Sisters Coltrida Mooya and her Council – Sipiwe Phiri, Madalena Manhica, and Maria Teresa Nogueira. In moments, the entire assembly was illuminated. “By lighting the candles of the new Council, and illuminating all the others, we proclaim our unity, and with the light, we testify that we want to walk together. To be a living presence, women of prophetic hope, willing to risk the new, so that in us and through us ALL MAY HAVE LIFE. May the bridge be faith. May the crossing be trust. And may the light burning in us never go out,” stated Sister Margaret Fielding.
Another part of the agenda of this Chapter was the approval of the revised Constitutions, our rule of life, which, following a period of experimentation since the last Chapter in 2019, put in definitive form our move to one unit of governance. Because of changing demographics, we no longer have the canonical requirements for different areas to be considered provinces. Instead, we moved to one unit of governance at the international level and areas on the local level. This change will involve us in further efforts to be united in all aspects of our lives, while at the same time allowing local levels of governance to maintain their responsibilities of mission and ministry. For the Eastern American Area, we are continuing with an Area Leader and two Councilors for the time being. This arrangement allows us to continue the various ministries that are still under our leadership and responsibility. This includes ministries such as the RSHM LIFE Center, Centro Corazón de María, Cormaria Retreat Center, and our four European schools.
A review of the Chapter would be lacking if we did not recount the deep listening and discernment processes that marked our time together. Following a Synodal method of small group sharing, deep listening, and then being attentive to the Holy Spirit speaking through individuals and the group, we moved toward consensus on the various issues that needed to be addressed. When we met as a full body (39 delegates), we repeatedly followed a pattern of personal reflection, small group sharing, and then sharing in a large group. Our two facilitators, Sister Brid Long, SSL, and Sister Kelly Connors, PM, expertly guided us through our discernment of issues and elections. The Chapter was a profound experience of the Spirit alive in our Institute, calling us to be prophetic women of hope as we encounter a world in deep distress on so many levels.