The team had already drafted a statement and action plan in advance during short Zoom conferences. These points now had to be fleshed out and explored in greater depth.
As the topic of JPIC is so diverse and wide-ranging, priorities should also be set, which will receive special attention in the coming period.
We hope and count on finding fellow campaigners among the members here in the individual units. After all, the tasks relating to JPIC are diverse and can change in nature or challenge depending on the cultural environment. This requires local people to work with us to give the world a more humane and Salvatorian face.
Of course, the problem of different languages is certainly a challenge, but with the online tools available today, a little openness and patience, it can be solved relatively easily.
If you are a member of the Salvatorian Family and these lines have aroused your interest, we would be delighted to hear from you.
This year, ICDS Recognition Day fell on a Sunday. This enabled many groups and units to turn this day of the Lay Salvatorians into a real celebration. Here are a few snapshots from Australia, Brazil, and Austria. Venezuela sent special pages showing what happened there.
The General Committee would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved for their participation and cooperation. It is a beautiful sign of unity that we can give to the world on this day.
If your unit also took pictures on the day but did not send them in, you are welcome to do so now. We will add them here.
Two significant celebrations in one day for us lay Salvatorians. Perhaps not everyone is fully aware of this overlap. Nevertheless, some lay Salvatorians are already working today for liberation from modern slavery and against the many forms of human trafficking. This is certainly not the sole main apostolate of the lay Salvatorians, but it is an important task and a response to one of the signs of the times.
The documentation linked here is intended to tell us a little more about the life of Saint Josephine Bakhita and to strengthen us in our efforts to take up our apostolate for this cause and the cry for justice.
The members of the General Chapter met this week at the Mother House of the Society of the Divine Saviour in Rome. The purpose of this meeting was to plan and organise activities for the next two years and, in some cases, beyond.
In addition to joint group formation through meditative and prayer elements, the main topics were the work and progress of the established ICDS committees, as well as how we can improve our communication and presentation to the outside world. A Zoom conversation with the lay group in Palestine was also on the agenda.
Part of this meeting was also participation in the public audience with Pope Leo XIV and a meeting of the International General Leadership Team. The main topics here were how we can improve our cooperation in order to achieve our goals and mission.
The US Unit General Assembly took place from June 24 to 27, 2025, at St. Benedict’s Abbey in Benet Lake, WI. The main purpose of this assembly was to implement the ICDS statutes and thus establish the current ICDS unit in the USA. The existing sectors were brought together under the new ICDS umbrella and a leadership team was elected in accordance with the ICDS statutes. The oldest organization of lay Salvatorians worldwide thus paved the way for its entry into the ICDS. The transition was very simple, as it mostly only required renaming the offices. Only the auditors, who are now required, and those responsible for safeguarding, data protection, and JPIC had to be reappointed.
Fr. Silas Henderson, SDS, was recruited as facilitator and gave a very interesting presentation on the difference between apostles and disciples.
The meeting was characterized by a very lively exchange between the delegates, some of whom were meeting members from other sectors for the first time. Moving reflections by lay Salvatorians and intercessions during the daily Masses, as well as spiritually immersive prayer times, rounded off this moving and historic meeting.
Once again, many thanks for allowing me to participate as a guest.
 | Pope Francis has passed away this morning and with him a great man of the Catholic Church. May his humanitarian and social visions and his pioneering activities always remain in our good and wise memory and may we continue to draw advice and wisdom from his encyclicals. Thank you, Holy Father Francis, for allowing us to share a part of the journey with you. |
