During the VII Chapter of the Province in Norandina, held in Fusagasuga (Colombia), from the 3 to the 5 of June, the Brothers elected the new provincial council.
32 brothers participated, including incoming and outgoing provincials, 11 brothers from Colombia, 7 from Ecuador, 7 from Venezuela and 5 temporary professed brothers.
On the first day of the Chapter’s sessions, the Eucharist was celebrated for the opening and possession of Br. Orlando Escobar, as the new Provincial; one of the most significant moments, was when Bro. César Rojas, handed him a lighted lantern, inviting him to be “Beacon of Hope” with his testimony in the provincial animation.
That same day, the superior general Ernesto Sanchez, along with Brothers João Carlos do Prado and Ken McDonald, general counselors, that participated on behalf of the general administration. During his speech, Brother Ernesto invited the participants to see beyond, not to be afraid of the novelty and to take care of the sprouts of life that are being born and make synergy with others.
The second day was dedicated to the balance and report of the provincial animation of the past triennium César Rojas and the counselors of this same period. On the same day, they began to reflect on the function of dreaming the calls for the new triennium of animation; for this, the capitular brothers had access to the reports of the different commissions and provincial animation teams.
On the third day chapter, the synthesis of calls proposals were made along with the lines of action to operationalize them; likewise, they discussed the provincial organization of the previous three years and another way of animation that is more suitable for the new government of the province.
The last day of the Chapter was centered on three important moments, the reading of the regulations and the election of the new provincial council; the presentation of the financial report for the three years and ended with the closing Eucharist and sending the new provincial council 2021 – 2023, ending the VII Provincial Chapter under the slogan ”With helping hands, let’s be life”.
The new provincial council elected at the Feast of San Marcelino is made up of Brothers Julián Olmo, Carlos Regalado, Diego Zawadzky, Orlando Escobar (Provincial), José Miguel Caballero, Carlos Saúl Corzo and Leonardo Yepes.