Summary of day

Day Four of the General Assembly -- Salamanca 2015

We have moved beyond the midway point in our General Assembly and now after many hours of work, reflection and sharing, today July 27th was highlighted by the election of the International President. Because of the great significance of our work today, we began with prayer that had been prepared by the delegation from the Dominican Republic. We were invited to be steadfast in our faith and to pray. Furthermore we were invited to place all the decisions that were to be made today in the hands of God … the Blessed Sacrament remained exposed throughout the day.

After prayer the delegates divided into language groups and participated in various workshops. The English speaking group participated in a workshop on systemic change and evangelization; the French speaking group participated in a workshop on the develop of affectivity and self-financing projects; the Spanish and Portuguese speaking group participated in a workshop on the Marian character of our Association and the importance of leadership within the Association.

Then, in the Assembly Hall there was a video presentation on the Vincentian Youth Gathering and World Day 2016 (both events will be held in Krakow (Poland). Daniel Malmierca (a delegate from Spain) then shared some reflection on the exposition of the first day, that is, the exposition that deal with the VMY on the peripheries. The delegates then prepared proposals that were to become part of the Final Document.

The afternoon began by sharing our reflections with regard to the content of the Final Document. We listened to the ideas of the various language groups as well as ideas that were presented by the redaction committee. There was a good discussion during which delegates made various contributions to this document.

The delegation from the Philippines prepared today’s Eucharist that was presided by Father Gregory Gay. Today Mass was celebrated in the Assembly Hall since the election of the new President immediately followed the Eucharist. There were three candidates for President: Ricardo Sousa (Portugal), Rafael Cruz (Brazil) and Yancarlos Carasco (Dominican Republic). Yancarlos was elected on the first ballot (with at least a majority +one of the votes) as the new International President of the Vincentian Marian Youth Association.

The African countries provided the evening’s entertainment.

Translated: Charles T. Plock, CM