13^th General Assembly
Communion and Mission "ad extra" in the III Millennium

1^st Communiqué - May 8, 2007

On Sunday afternoon, May 6, 2007, the 13th General Assembly of the PIME Missionaries opened with the solemn celebration of vespers presided by Fr. Gian Battista Zanchi, the Superior General. This 13th General Assembly is being held at the retreat center run by the Pauline Fathers in Ariccia, Italy, about 40 minutes outside of Rome in the Alban hills, near Castel Gandolfo, where the Holy Father has a summer residence.

In addition to the members of the Assembly, other members PIME, seminarians and friends gathered in the main chapel of the Pauline Fathers for this evening prayer service, including the vicar general of the Sisters of the Immaculate, Sr. Rosangela Ratti. The Superior General referred to the Gospel passage of the blind man, Bartimeus (Mark 10:46-52), who was healed because he realized his condition and who was insistent in asking for Christ’s help

That evening, Fr. Zanchi officially opened the Assembly. There are 44 members of the Assembly; all were present with the exception of two, who officially requested to not be present: Fr. Gian Paolo Gualzetti, from Bangladesh, and Fr. Gino Goduto of S. Italy. Others were chosen to replace them. Fr. Gianni Criveller was named the provisional secretary of the Assembly and Frs. Ferruccio Brambillasca and Sisto Magro the provisional vote counters. All three were approved by the Assembly.

On Monday morning, the actual work of the Assembly began. The members then spent the next few hours reading over and discussing the procedural norms which will be put to use in the next month. In the afternoon, the following officials of the Assembly were elected:

General Secretary of the Assembly: Fr. Sergio Fossati (USA)

Members of the Presidential Council: Fr. Dino Doimo (Hong Kong-China)

Fr. Pietro Pisoni (N. Italy)

Moderators: Fr. Gianni Criveller (Hong Kong-China)

Fr. Francis Rapacioli (Bangladesh)

Fr. Carlo Tinello (Italy)

Fr. David Sciocco (Northern Italy)

Vote Counters: Fr. Ferruccio Brambillasca (Japan)

Fr. Sisto Magro (Amapa, N. Brazil)

Members of the Office of Information:

Fr. Giorgio Licini (Papua New Guinea)

Fr. Carlos Antonio Nunes (S. Brazil)

Fr. Ken Mazur (USA)

Secretaries of the Assembly: Fr. Giuseppe Carrara, Fr. Gianluca Tavola

(Not official members of the  Assembly)

Beginning on Tuesday morning, the various regions of PIME will give their reports.