The local superiors of the Province of Venezuela met on 13 and 14 November on the occasion of the “Province Day,” which this year coincided with the closing celebration of the 75th anniversary of the confreres’ presence in that country. The meeting was friendly, but very demanding. The agenda was simple, but intense. Included was: a short Lectio Vincentiana on the letter of Saint Vincent de Paul to Father Antoine Durand, recently named superior, as a setting for the entire meeting; the presentation and prayer of the new text of the Prayer for Vocations, “Hope of Israel,” declaring it the “official” and “obligatory” text in order to unite us with the rest of the Spanish-speaking provinces, as was decided at the meeting of Visitors of CLAPVI in Mexico; and a spontaneous sharing of the life of our communities, placing each one’s point of view under the progress of the province. The draft of the Provincial Plan was put to the test, according to the reality that we are facing, given the nation’s very delicate situation. On the 14th, the “Day of the Province,” we received the Visitatrix of the Sisters, who “not by coincidence but by Providence, came to greet us. One point was that of the revision of our works, which is delicate and never sufficiently treated, above all because of the great difficulty, ever more pressing, caused by the shortage of personnel and their situation. The recent appointment of Father Fernando Ozal, as Provincial Vocation Director,was noted for information. However, the theme of working with youth and vocational promotion was presented especially to provide help and contributions for the better functioning of this ministry, which the province believes is very pressing for its subsistence. The Provincial Treasurer referred the whole financial scene to us. He combined the criteria of a good administration and the realities of the situation of our economy. The Visitor concluded our superiors’ meeting, specifying some of the points treated, preparing the next official visit on the part of the Assistant General, Father J. M. Nieto, and giving us the schedule of provincial activities for the remainder of 2007 and the first half of 2008.
