New Congregational Leadership Team Elected

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January 26

After a few days of discernment and prayer, reflection in base groups and consensus groups, the members of the General Chapter invited a group of sisters to participate in the election process as possible candidates for the Congregational Leadership Team.

Those who agreed to participate in the elections presented their discernment process and answered the questions that the Chapter members asked. The voting was done in stages, giving the Chapter Members time to evaluate how the team could be composed according to the needs of the Congregation for the present time.

As a result, the new Congregational Leadership Team (CLT) is now composed of Sister Miriam Altenhofen, the new Congregational Leader elected last Saturday, and five other members: Sisters Kreti Sanhueza Vidal, Mikaelin Bupu, Tressa Sebastian Nayathu, Mariana Camezzana, and Jana Pavla, Natalia Tóthová.

The newly elected team was celebrated with joy, congratulations and an intercultural celebration with music, dance and tributes from different parts of the world. In the celebration of the Mass, the chapter members expressed their gratitude to the 6 courageous sisters who have placed their lives in God’s hands and who in just three months will take on this challenging mission in the service of the entire Congregation.

A Brief Presentation of each one:

Sr. Kreti Sanhueza Vidal

Sr. Kreti is from Chile and was born on October 9, 1961. Her first vows were in 1984 and her perpetual vows in 1990. She studied Pedagogy, Science of Religion, Dogmatic Theology, and received her doctorate in Systematic Theology. Her missionary experience was in rural pastoral work in Northern Brazil and she also worked in pre-novitiate and juniorate formation. She is currently Provincial Leader of Chile and Coordinator of the Theological-Pedagogical Institute and of the Professional Institute Hogar Catechistico. She speaks Spanish, English, French and Italian.

Sr. Mikaelin, Emiliana Bupu

Sr. Mikaelin was born on September 29, 1964, is from Indonesia and entered in Flores East Province. Her first vows were in 1988 and her perpetual vows in 1996. She studied Secretarial Functioning and Administration, System Software Programs, Leadership and Spirituality.  She had a cross-cultural missionary experience in the United States and worked mainly in Administration and Leadership, both in Rome and in her province. In Flores East she was Provincial Assistant (2007 – 2010) and Provincial Leader (2010-2014). At the 14th General Chapter she was elected General Councillor (2014 -2022). Her native language is Bahasa Indonesia and she speaks English, Spanish and Italian.

Sr. Tressa Sebastian Nayathu

Sr. Tressa was born in India on August 27, 1969 and joined the India East Province. She has a bachelor’s degree as a social worker and a master’s degree in Psychological Counseling. She has been in Russia for 17 years as a missionary, working especially in pastoral and social work and is the current Regional Leader. Her native language is Malayalam and she also speaks English and Russian.

Sr. Mariana Camezzana

Sr. Mariana was born on October 21, 1968 and is from Argentina South. She made her first vows in 1990 and the perpetual vows in 1999. She has mission experience in Zambia, South Africa, Ireland and Argentina and speaks Spanish and English. She is currently Provincial Assistant, Coordinator of the Project “Ser Mujer”, Theologian, Counsellor and Mediator in Conflict Resolution.

Sr. Jana Pavla, Natália Tóthová

Sr. Jana Pavla was born on May 2, 1975, is Slovakian, took her first vows in 1998 and her perpetual vows in 2004. She has a professional background as a nurse and in Health Sciences. For 14 years she was in Ghana working in Health Care, Administration and Biblical Pastoral Ministry. In 2018 she was called from Ghana to be the Provincial Leader of Slovakia. Last year she started her second term.  She speaks Slovak and English.

Change in the Number of Members of the Team

The number of members of the Leadership Team has changed from seven to six members. This was a proposal made by the current CLT and approved by the 15th General Chapter because of the decreasing number of members in the Congregation and the advance of technology and travel.

The proposal was approved ‘ad experimentum’ and will be evaluated at the next General Chapter. Since it is a change in the SSpS Constitutions, it was sent to the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL) on January 18, 2022.

The positive response came surprisingly the next day, with the following statement: “This Dicastery, after the attentive study and in the light of your proper law accepts and approves the request.”[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]