THE ITALIAN PROVINCE
since 1888
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Lived Charism The Sisters of the Holy Cross have six communities that are located in six different parishes and living in three different regions of Italy, namely in Lombardy, Liguria and Piemont. Another community is in Sondrio, where our elderly and retired sisters live. Within this community there is a smaller group of sisters who are not so old, who devote themselves as much as possible to the pastoral ministry in the city and the surrounding parishes. |
In the parishes, we are working together with the priests and laity according to the pastoral needs of different areas. We are devoted to catechesis and education of children and adolescents. We train catechists and youth leaders and are members of the Diocesan Office for Religious Pastoral Care of Vocations; we also take care of the after-school needs of disadvantaged children.
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In addition, we prepare young parents for the baptism of their children. We support the elderly and the sick in their various needs and we bring them Holy Communion. We work together with the priests to prepare young Christian couples for the baptism of their children. We are engaged in organizing Bible sharing sessions and Eucharistic Adoration for the promotion of religious vocations.
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We offer our services in some parishes where, in collaboration with Caritas, we try to show the poor a humane face. We are members of the Center for "Help to live", where we strive to foster a consciousness in promotion of life, assisting the poorer families or single mothers during pregnancy or during a difficult birth. We offer encounters for ongoing human and educational formation for parents or teachers in difficult circumstances. Some of our sisters form teams with priests and sisters from other congregations at the blessing of the families in the parishes.
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The older sisters still occupy themselves with handcrafts. However, they devote themselves mainly to prayer and are prepared to take the discomforts associated with old age in a positive way. Furthermore, we are forming the lay people in preparation for them to take over and be involved in different ministries in the parishes. This enriches the community itself and contributes to unity among different groups.
Priorities
Last April, the Provincial Chapter of the Italian province prepared a six-year plan of action from 2011 until 2017 with the theme: "As disciples of Jesus and in accordance with the vision of our founders, we promote life with and for the poor." During the next six years and in light of the Message of the General Chapter of 2007 and the Message of the Council of the Congregation of 2010 we decided to deepen in our encounters in our personal and community life the following priorities:
• ONGOING FORMATION: because we believe in the value of the process of spiritual ongoing formation, we want that through the Word of God and through the concrete life and lifestyle the attitude of the poor Yahweh grows in us by living simply both personally and in community. On our way to greater authenticity in relationships, on personal and community levels, we find it important to critique ourselves, on how we render our services in different ministries. We strive to confront and challenge ourselves so that we are constantly aware of our shared responsibility both in communities and in the province.
• NON-EXCLUSIVE PREFERENTIAL OPTION FOR THE POOR: at regional and provincial levels and in collaboration with local institutions, we are eager to identify the forms of poverty that challenge us and to ask ourselves how best we can respond within the scope of our charism. We also believe in the importance of collaboration with the ecclesial and civil authorities, as well as the movements for justice, peace and the integrity of creation. (Cf. Message GK 2007).
• VOCATION PROMOTION: With the conviction that both the personal and community witness have a unique value in the pastoral care of vocations, we organize vocation promotion meetings with young women to offer personal accompaniment and integration into the communities.
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