With a deep sense of joy and gratitude, on behalf of the other members of the General Council, I wish to wholeheartedly greet you all here with full of prayer that you are all doing well and in good condition physically and psychologically. We are very happy  that our journey to come here is safe and smooth. We are also happy that we meet you all in the atsmosphere and spirit of brotherhood. We are all fully aware that we are one family as Brothers FIC, that we are brothers of one another. I do hope that four brothers who are going to make their orientation visit feel at home  under the hospitality and loving care of our fellow brothers here in Chile.

The General Council assigns me to do the working visit to Chile Province for about two weeks. This task is a part of our efforts to implement one of the resolutions of our General Chapter 2006, that General Council should pay special attention to our small provinces such as Chile and Malawi. Last year Bros. Martin Handoko and Raphael Besigreene did their canonical visitation to Chile. They found and experienced that Chile Province has been develop the community living, establishing a deeper communication and relationship, and living out the values of our congregation in your apostolic works. We realize that Chile province, although only has a small numbers of brothers, you have a lot of apostolic works and great mission. We also acknowledge that all brothers try to do their best in community life and in apostolic works. We fully support your effort to build the community which can make all members feel at home, to grow and to develop their personality and spirituality as Brothers FIC.

Aside from what I said above, during that canonical visitation, there was a kind of  agreement between the General Superior and Chile Province to invite some brothers from other provinces to make an orientation visit to Chile for some months. After some consultations and conversations between General Council and Chile Province, we have decided that this year we invite four brothers to come to Chile to make their orientation visit. We were very happy and suprised that many brothers wanted to be sent to Chile. This gave sign to us that the spirit of Internationality and Unity as a Congregation was very alive among the brothers. We are very grateful and thank Bros. Aloysius Porekuu, Andrew Makocho, Agustinus Suparno, and Robertus Kuncoro for your availability and readiness to come and to live in this province for some months. You all give and dedicate yourselves to Chile Province by making your orientation visit. We do hope that you can adjust yourselves well with the culture, circumtances, atmosphere and people here in Chile.

The main purpose of sending  brothers from other provinces to come to Chile is to create different atmosphere of our living together as International Congregation, to make our community living and apostolic work more alive, and to support and encourage one another as brothers in one Congregation. So we hope that doing mission is not only to do something but also to be with others. We have to try to implement this motto of the Congregation, “Called to be good and to do good”. Now, on behalf of General Council, I present to you brothers of the Chile province four brothers who have been now together with us. We do hope that they can make their orientation visit successfully and who knows that in the future can make decision to do their mission here, in Chile Province. We are very sure that you all will receive them with your open hands and hearts, so that we can grow as brothers FIC, to be fully happy brothers and fruitfull for the people surround us.

We fully consider this opportunity to make orientation visit an important event of the Congregation especially for Chile Province which is supposed to bear a concrete fruits for community living and apostolic activities. Let us continue our service to the provinces and the Congregation as well, for the sake of the Kingdom of God and the happiness of our fellow brothers.Trusting in  God’s guidance and the protection of Mary our mother of Immaculate the patroness of our Congregation, we continue to serve others and people arround us with the spirit of our founders.

On behalf of General Council,

TheodorusSuwariyanto