Brazil. On November 20th, the decree was signed by which the new Province of Brazil is constituted, born of the merging of the Province of Brazil Meridional and the Delegation of Central Brazil. This was the end for Brazil of a long process that had been carried out in accordance with the decision of the last General Chapter to revise the organization of Organisms in order to favour the missionary vigour of the Congregation. All the members of the two Organisms were involved in the process through consultations and studies in meetings, visitations, joint assemblies, etc. For many years the two Major Organisms were sharing the formative process and lately they had jointly assumed the missions of Maceió, in Brazil, and Mozambique, in Africa. Last October 30th , the governments of both Organisms expressed to the General Government the agreement they had reached and presented the formal petition to constitute the new Province by January of 2008. The General Government, who had previously studied the matter, decided the erection of the new Province of Brazil in the council of November 13th and published the decree on the 20th of the same month, feast of the Blessed Claretian Martyr Andrés Solá.
On January 23rd, the constitution of the new Province will take effect and the new Provincial Government will take possession. It will be the duty of this new Government to prepare the First Provincial Chapter that will probably be celebrated in the month of July, 2008.
On this occasion, the Superior General, Fr. Josep Maria Abella, has addressed a letter to the Claretians of Brazil Meridional and Central Brazil, inviting them to accept with generous spirit and true congregational sense the new juridical configuration of the Congregation in Brazil, which is expected to be beneficial for the development of the mission.
