Message from the Delegation Council -Beginning a New Academic and Pastoral Year with Hope and Renewal

Dear Confreres,

"Peace be with you"

As we prepare to begin a new academic and pastoral year on 29 June, 2026, We wish to reach out to each one of you with sentiments of gratitude, hope, and fraternal encouragement. This new beginning comes at a particularly significant moment in the life of our Delegation. We welcome new responsibilities, new community assignments, new superiors, new initiatives, and new pastoral collaborations. At the same time, we continue our journey toward the celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the presence of our Congregation in India (2026-2027), a milestone that invites us to thanksgiving, reflection, and renewed commitment to our vocation and mission.

First of all, we thank each one of you for your generous service to the Congregation, the Church, and the poor. The growth of our Delegation, the return of many confreres from formation, the beginning of new ministries, and the trust that various dioceses continue to place in us are clear signs of God's providence and blessings upon our humble efforts.

At the same time, every moment of growth is also an invitation to deeper conversion. During our recent meetings, community encounters, and the fraternal visits of the General Councilors, several important themes emerged repeatedly. We would like to share some of these reflections as we begin this new chapter together.

Safeguarding Fraternity: The Foundation of Our Religious Life

Our first responsibility is not merely to do many things, but to be true brothers to one another. Pope Francis repeatedly reminded religious communities that fraternity is not an accessory to consecrated life but one of its essential dimensions. Before we are administrators, educators, pastors, or social workers, we are brothers called by the same Lord and united by the same charism.

For this reason, we invite all of us to begin this new year with a renewed commitment to reconciliation, mutual respect, and genuine communion. Let us courageously set aside resentments, misunderstandings, and grudges that weaken fraternity and diminish our witness. Humility requires that we acknowledge our own limitations and mistakes while appreciating the gifts and goodness present in our brothers.

Our communities must become places where every confrere feels welcomed, valued, listened to, and respected. The true measure of our religious life is not only the success of our apostolates but also the quality of our relationships. Let us learn again to value the brother who lives beside us. Let us not allow differences of opinion, personality, culture, or generation to become obstacles to communion. If we lose the foundational values of religious life, no amount of external success can compensate for that loss.

Authority as Service and the Importance of Communication

One of the strongest messages emphasized during the visits of the General Council was the understanding of authority as service rather than control. The Lord Himself taught us: "Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant" (Mk 10:43).

Every superior is called to exercise authority through listening, accompaniment, dialogue, and discernment. Likewise, every confrere is called to cooperate actively in building community through openness, trust, transparency, and sincere communication. Many difficulties arise not because of bad intentions but because of inadequate communication. Therefore, let us cultivate a culture of dialogue in our communities. Let us speak with one another rather than about one another. Let us seek understanding before judgment. Let us build bridges rather than walls. The family spirit so dear to Saint Luigi Orione grows precisely through this attitude of mutual trust and communication.

Rekindling Our Apostolic Zeal

Another concern that emerged in our reflections is the need to renew our apostolic enthusiasm. We are grateful for the many ministries entrusted to us. Yet we must honestly ask ourselves whether we still possess the same missionary fire that inspired our pioneers and characterized the early years of our presence in India. Saint Luigi Orione wanted his sons to have hearts open to every form of poverty. He often reminded his religious that every soul is precious before God. The poor today present themselves in many forms: materially poor, spiritually abandoned, emotionally wounded, socially marginalized, lonely, elderly, youth without direction, families in crisis, and many others who seek hope and accompaniment. The needs around us are increasing. Therefore, we cannot allow ourselves to become comfortable, self-centered, or indifferent. We were not called for ourselves. We were called for others.

Every community should continually ask itself: "Who are the poor around us?" "What more can we do to make Christ's compassion visible?" "How can we respond more creatively to the needs of the Church and society?"

May our eyes remain attentive, our hearts compassionate, and our hands ready for service.

Preserving the Family Spirit

One of the most beautiful characteristics of our Congregation is its family spirit. A family shares joys and struggles, communicates openly, seeks advice, asks permission when needed, and supports one another in times of difficulty. Religious life cannot be lived as a collection of isolated individuals.

Dependency, dialogue with superiors, accountability, Transparency, community participation, and shared responsibility are not burdens; they are expressions of our consecration. Let us strengthen this family spirit in our communities. Let us avoid attitudes of individualism and excessive autonomy that gradually erode the communal dimension of our vocation. May every house of the Delegation truly become a home where fraternity, simplicity, trust, and mutual support flourish.

Protecting Our Personal Spiritual Journey and the integrity of our Consecrated Identity

Finally, we wish to emphasize something that is perhaps the most important of all: the integrity of our personal spiritual journey and the authenticity of our consecrated life. In today's world, many forms of loneliness, isolation, distraction, and unhealthy compensations threaten the integrity of religious life. Without a solid spiritual foundation, even the most active apostolic life eventually loses its meaning. Our vocation is a beautiful gift, one that deserves to be protected, cherished, and nurtured every day.

At the same time, we feel called to share a concern that has emerged more clearly in recent years. As our Delegation continues to grow and mature, we must be careful not to lose some of the fundamental values that sustain religious life. Sometimes, in the name of autonomy, personal freedom, or individual preferences, we risk weakening those elements that are essential to our vocation: community life, dialogue, accountability, transparency, obedience, and healthy dependence on one another.

Religious life is not merely a group of individuals living under the same roof. It is a family united by a common call, a common charism, and a common mission. The sacrifices we have made in leaving our families, careers, personal ambitions, and individual plans find their meaning only when we wholeheartedly embrace the life to which we have been called. If we gradually abandon the foundational practices and values of religious life, we risk reducing our communities to simple residences rather than authentic communities of consecrated men.

In this context, we believe it is important to distinguish between simple socialization and true fraternity. Socialization often develops naturally around common interests, personal preferences, similar backgrounds, shared tastes, or mutual comfort. There is nothing wrong with these human relationships; indeed, they can enrich community life. However, if our communities are built primarily on affinities, preferences, friendships, or personal convenience, we risk creating circles that satisfy our emotional needs while gradually weakening the deeper meaning of our consecration.

True fraternity goes beyond social compatibility. It is not founded on whom we prefer, whom we agree with, or whom we find easiest to live with. Rather, it is founded on a shared commitment to seek and accomplish the will of God. We are not together primarily to fulfil our personal desires, promote our individual projects, advance our careers, or create comfortable environments for ourselves. We are together because God has called us to walk the same path, to share the same charism, and to participate in the same mission.

A religious community should therefore be much more than a place where people coexist peacefully. It should be a fraternity where each member seeks, together with his brothers, to discern the will of God and to place that will above personal preferences. Such fraternity does not suppress individuality; rather, it values the gifts, talents, personalities, and contributions of each confrere. Yet all these gifts must remain at the service of the Gospel, the charism, and the common mission entrusted to us.

Our personal plans, aspirations, and legitimate desires have their place, but they must always remain subordinate to the fundamental values of our consecrated life. Whenever individual interests begin to take precedence over our religious identity and communal commitments, we gradually weaken the very foundations upon which our vocation stands.

One of the greatest challenges of our time is the temptation to live increasingly isolated lives while remaining physically present in the community. Genuine fraternity requires openness, dialogue, mutual support, accountability, and a willingness to journey together. The spirit of religious life cannot flourish where individualism takes precedence over communion, nor can it thrive where social comfort replaces the common pursuit of God's will.

Therefore, let us renew our commitment to prayer, Eucharistic devotion, meditation on the Word of God, spiritual direction, community prayer, Marian devotion, personal discipline, and faithful participation in community life. The solution to loneliness is not distraction but deeper communion with God, with our brothers, and with ourselves. The solution to discouragement is not escape but renewed trust in the One who called us. The solution to spiritual fatigue is to return continually to the source of our vocation: Jesus Christ.

As we move forward together, let us safeguard our priestly and religious identity with integrity, gratitude, and joy. Let us never take for granted the gift we have received. Rather, let us strive each day to live our consecration faithfully, convinced that the beauty and fruitfulness of our mission depend first and foremost on the authenticity of our relationship with God, our commitment to the values of religious life, and our willingness to build true fraternity rooted in the will of God.

Looking Forward with Hope

As we stand at the threshold of a new year and prepare for the celebration of our Silver Jubilee in India, let us begin again. We all need a transformation at different levels and different aspects. So, let us begin with gratitude rather than complaints. Let us begin with trust rather than suspicion. Let us begin with fraternity rather than division. Let us begin with zeal rather than complacency. Let us begin with hope rather than discouragement. The Church needs us. The poor need us. Our Congregation needs us. Above all, Christ continues to call us. Let us walk together as one family, united in heart and mission, inspired by Saint Luigi Orione, guided by Our Lady of Good Health, and strengthened by the grace of God.

As Delegate Superior, together with the members of the Delegation Council, we assure you of our commitment to serve, accompany, and support every confrere. We ourselves desire to be the first to live these values that we invite others to embrace. Let us help each other in this journey towards holiness. May this new year become a time of renewed fraternity, deeper spirituality, greater missionary zeal, and faithful witness to our charism. Entrusting each one of you and your communities to the maternal protection of Our Lady of Good Health, we invoke upon you God's abundant blessings.

In Faith

Fr. Arul Dhas A

Delegate Superior

Fr. Shibu P

Vicar Delegate

Fr. Raja Sunil Y

Delegation Secretary

Fr. Chinnappa P

Delegate Bursar