7. Leadership and Organization of the Community

“Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” – John 13:12b-15.

“Superiors should reflect both the charity with which God loves the brothers and respect for the human person and so lead the other members to cooperate with active and responsible obedience, even in virtue of the vow, in carrying out their assigned duties and in undertaking new ones.” – Constitutions, 94b.

Introduction

Leadership as Animation, Accompaniment, and Discernment

Religious communities do not exist primarily because of structures, rules, or offices. They exist because persons are called together by the Spirit for a shared life and mission. Leadership, therefore, is not first about control or efficiency, but about animation: helping the community remain alive, faithful, and fruitful in its vocation.

Leadership in the community—whether at the General, Provincial, or Local level—is a ministry of service, entrusted for a time, exercised in communion, and always oriented toward mission.

1. Leadership as Animation of Life

At its heart, leadership is the art of awakening and sustaining life in the community.

Leadership animates the community when it:

• Helps members feel welcomed, respected, and at home
• Encourages participation and shared responsibility
• Fosters trust, dialogue, and mutual care
• Keeps the community attentive to the Spirit and the mission

Animation goes beyond administration. A community may function efficiently and yet be spiritually tired or fragmented. Authentic leadership asks deeper questions:

• Are we growing as brothers?
• Are we truly listening to one another?
• Are we attentive to the needs of the people we serve?

Leadership that animates life does not dominate; it creates space for others to grow.

2. Levels of Leadership: One Vision, Different Responsibilities

Leadership in the Claretian Congregation is exercised at different levels, each with its own responsibilities and scope of authority, while all share the same fundamental purpose: to serve communion, fidelity to the charism, and mission.

General and Provincial Leadership (Major Superiors)

General and Provincial Superiors exercise leadership at the level of the whole Congregation or Province. According to the Constitutions, Major Superiors, each within his own level and jurisdiction, enjoy legislative, executive, and judicial ecclesiastical power, in accordance with the norm of law, for both the external and the internal forum (CC 97).

This authority enables them to:

• Safeguard the unity and identity of the Congregation (CC 132–134)
• Establish norms and policies for communal and apostolic life
• Take binding decisions for the good of the Institute
• Accompany communities and members in matters of governance, discipline, and mission

Their leadership has a strong animating and coordinating role, ensuring that structures, plans, and decisions serve the life and mission of the Congregation as a whole.

Local Leadership

Local leadership is where governance becomes most concrete and relational, because it is exercised in daily proximity to the community.

While the local superior carries real responsibility for the life and mission of the community, the Constitutions clarify that a local superior enjoys only executive power of governance (CC 97).

The local superior:

• Implements and applies the Constitutions, the Directory, and the decisions of Major Superiors
• Animates community life and missionary activity
• Coordinates common life and apostolic commitments
• Promotes dialogue, participation, and shared responsibility

He does not legislate new norms nor exercise judicial authority, but governs primarily through service, accompaniment, and the execution of shared decisions.

In this sense, the local superior is not merely an administrator, but:

• A brother among brothers (CC 34)
• A promoter of communion (CC 38)
• An animator of mission (CC 43)
• A facilitator of shared responsibility (Dir 417–420)

In short: the authority of the local superior is primarily executive and animating, exercised through accompaniment, coordination, and service—not legislative or judicial power (cf. CC 97).

A Complementary Vision of Authority

This differentiation of authority among levels of leadership does not weaken local leadership; rather, it clarifies its nature and strengthens its mission. Each level exercises authority appropriate to its scope, always in communion with the whole Congregation.

When lived in this spirit, Claretian governance becomes:

• Clear without being rigid
• Authoritative without being authoritarian
• Structured without losing fraternity

Within this shared vision of authority, leadership is experienced most authentically as accompaniment.

3. Leadership as Accompaniment

Leadership in community life is essentially a ministry of accompaniment. To lead is to walk with persons and communities, helping them discern, grow, and remain faithful to their vocation and mission.

Effective accompaniment requires more than goodwill; it calls for discernment, intentionality, and respect for persons and processes. Among its most important expressions are facilitation, coaching, mentoring, and fraternal correction.

Facilitation

Facilitation is essential in community meetings, planning, and shared discernment.

Leadership facilitates when it:

• Creates a safe space for dialogue
• Encourages participation from all members
• Fosters respectful listening
• Keeps discussions focused and constructive
• Helps clarify what is emerging without imposing conclusions

Good facilitation enables the community to discern together what the Spirit may be saying.

Coaching

Coaching supports growth, responsibility, and effectiveness in mission.

Leadership as coaching:

• Helps clarify goals and expectations
• Encourages accountability and initiative
• Supports confreres in facing challenges
• Strengthens confidence and motivation

Coaching is especially helpful when a person or community is capable and committed, but needs direction or encouragement to move forward.

Mentoring

Mentoring is grounded in relationship and trust. It involves sharing experience, wisdom, and insight over time.

Leadership as mentoring:

• Helps others interpret situations wisely
• Encourages long-term vocational and personal growth
• Respects freedom and uniqueness
• Models values through example

Mentoring is particularly valuable in intergenerational and multicultural communities.

Fraternal Correction

Fraternal correction is one of the most delicate yet necessary dimensions of community life. It flows from charity and responsibility.

It is exercised well when it:

• Is motivated by concern for the person and the community
• Is offered with respect and humility
• Takes place privately
• Focuses on concrete behavior rather than judgments
• Leaves room for dialogue and conversion

Avoiding fraternal correction out of fear weakens fraternity; practiced wisely, it strengthens trust and growth.

4. Discernment in Leadership

Leadership in community life is inseparable from discernment.

Discernment involves:

• Listening to the Word of God
• Attending to the movements of the Spirit
• Considering the voices and experiences of members
• Reading reality honestly and courageously

Superiors are called to foster a climate where discernment becomes a habitual way of making decisions, especially in community meetings and moments of transition.

5. Organization at the Service of Communion

The Congregation recognizes the importance of norms, structures, and organization. At the same time, organization is always a means, never an end.

Healthy organization:

• Clarifies roles and responsibilities
• Promotes transparency and participation
• Supports fraternity and apostolic availability
• Serves both mission and personal well-being

Leadership must continually ask whether structures truly serve communion and mission, or merely preserve order.

6. Leadership and Governance in the Claretian Congregation

Claretian governance flows from our identity as apostolic missionaries living in community.

Authority is exercised as service, inspired by the Gospel and entrusted for the good of persons, communities, and mission (CC 132). Superiors exercise leadership in communion with the Congregation and with the help of councils, consultation, and dialogue (CC 127; Dir 501).

Community meetings are privileged spaces for participation, discernment, and shared responsibility (Dir 417–419). Decisions are made through prayerful listening, dialogue, and responsible authority, and are communicated with clarity and charity (CC 21; Dir 104).

Norms and structures exist to protect fraternity, support mission, and ensure accountability (CC 126; Dir 102). When lived in this spirit, governance becomes an expression of Claretian spirituality. 

7. Challenges and Opportunities Today

Claretian communities today face several significant challenges that directly affect community life and leadership. Naming them honestly helps communities respond to them with realism and hope.

Cultural and Generational Diversity

Many communities today are composed of members from different cultures, languages, and generations. This diversity is a richness, but it can also lead to misunderstandings, different expectations, and contrasting ways of communicating, praying, or relating to authority. Leadership is called to value diversity, foster mutual respect, and help the community grow in patience, openness, and intercultural sensitivity.

Heavy Workloads and Fatigue

Apostolic demands, reduced numbers, and expanding responsibilities often place a heavy burden on individuals and communities. When work consistently takes priority over rest, prayer, and fraternity, fatigue and discouragement can set in. Leadership has the responsibility to promote a healthy balance, protect community moments, and help members recognize their limits as part of faithful missionary living.

Individualism and Isolation

Contemporary culture strongly emphasizes personal autonomy and individual achievement. This influence can quietly weaken community life, leading members to live alongside one another rather than truly together. Leadership is challenged to foster genuine relationships, shared responsibility, and spaces where members feel listened to, supported, and involved in common life.

Rapid Social and Ecclesial Change

Communities live within a rapidly changing social and ecclesial context that can create uncertainty and tension. New pastoral realities, changing expectations, and evolving Church situations may provoke anxiety or resistance. Leadership is called to help the community read these changes with discernment, remain rooted in the charism, and respond creatively rather than defensively.

These realities can strain community life if they are ignored or faced alone. At the same time, they offer opportunities for growth when leadership is humble, discerning, and hopeful, and when communities are willing to learn, adapt, and walk together.

8. Common Pitfalls in Community Leadership

Leadership in community life is demanding, and certain difficulties tend to recur across cultures and contexts. Being aware of these common pitfalls helps leaders remain vigilant and grow in wisdom and freedom.

Confusing Authority with Control

When authority is exercised mainly through control, supervision, or excessive regulation, community life can become tense and rigid. Instead of fostering trust and shared responsibility, this approach often generates fear or passivity. Authentic authority seeks to animate and accompany, guiding the community through service rather than domination.

Avoiding Conflict Rather Than Addressing It

Out of a desire for peace or fear of tension, leaders may avoid confronting difficult situations or behaviours. Unaddressed conflicts, however, tend to resurface in more damaging ways. Leadership that addresses conflicts early, with honesty and charity, helps the community grow in maturity and trust.

Making Decisions in Isolation

When leaders make decisions alone, without consultation or dialogue, members may feel excluded or undervalued. Even well-intentioned decisions can then be misunderstood or resisted. Shared discernment, consultation, and the use of councils strengthen communion and lead to wiser and more widely supported decisions.

Overemphasizing Efficiency

Focusing excessively on results, schedules, and productivity can slowly erode relationships and community life. While efficiency has its place, it cannot replace fraternity, prayer, and human care. Leadership is called to ensure that organizational demands do not overshadow the personal and spiritual dimensions of community life.

Neglecting Personal and Communal Balance

When leaders or communities ignore the need for rest, prayer, and fraternal time, burnout and discouragement often follow. Sustainable leadership respects human limits and promotes a rhythm of life that integrates mission, community, and personal well-being.

9. Good Practices in Community Leadership

Healthy leadership is learned and strengthened through concrete practices that foster trust, participation, and shared responsibility. The following practices help communities grow in fraternity and mission.

Transparent and Participatory Processes

When decisions and processes are clear and shared, members feel respected and involved. Transparency builds trust and reduces suspicion or misunderstanding. Participatory processes do not eliminate the responsibility of the superior, but they ensure that decisions are informed by listening and shared discernment.

Respectful Dialogue and Consultation

Dialogue is more than exchanging opinions; it is listening with openness and respect. Regular consultation allows different perspectives to emerge and helps the community discern more wisely. Leadership that values dialogue creates an atmosphere where members feel free to speak honestly and responsibly.

Responsible Use of Councils

Councils are an essential support for leadership, not a formality. Used responsibly, they help the superior reflect, discern, and decide in communion with others. Respecting their role strengthens co-responsibility and prevents isolated decision-making.

Balance Between Firmness and Compassion

Leadership requires both clarity and kindness. Excessive rigidity can wound relationships, while excessive leniency can create confusion. Good leadership holds these together, offering guidance with firmness while remaining attentive to persons and their situations.

Regular Evaluation of Leadership and Community Life

Periodic evaluation helps leaders and communities grow in awareness and accountability. Reflecting together on what is working well and what needs improvement fosters ongoing conversion and prevents stagnation. Evaluation, when done in a spirit of trust, strengthens both leadership and community life.

10. Key Attitudes for Local Leadership

The exercise of leadership in the community depends not only on skills or functions, but above all on the inner attitudes of the superior. These attitudes shape the human and spiritual climate of the community.

Presence and Availability

The superior’s presence—physical, emotional, and spiritual—communicates closeness and care. Being available to listen, accompany, and share daily life helps members feel seen and valued. Prolonged absence or excessive distance weakens trust and communion.

Deep Listening

Deep listening goes beyond hearing words. It involves attention, respect, and openness to the other, even when there are differences of opinion. A superior who listens patiently fosters sincere dialogue, prevents conflicts, and supports clearer discernment.

Consistency and Fairness

Consistency between words and actions builds credibility. Fairness in dealing with members, without favoritism or arbitrariness, strengthens trust and a sense of justice in the community. Lack of consistency or fairness often leads to discouragement and tension.

Humility and Openness

Recognizing one’s limits, welcoming suggestions, and learning from others are signs of mature leadership. Humility opens the way to collaboration and mutual growth. A superior who remains open creates an environment where everyone can contribute and develop.

Hope and Encouragement

The superior is called to be a bearer of hope, especially in times of difficulty or fatigue. Encouraging others, acknowledging efforts, and highlighting signs of life help the community face the future with confidence and renewed commitment.

11. Helpful Practices for Local Superiors

Alongside key attitudes, certain concrete practices support healthy leadership and strengthen community life. When practiced consistently, they help translate vision into daily living.

Regular Community Meetings with Space for Dialogue

Regular community meetings provide an essential space for sharing information, listening to one another, and discerning together. When these meetings allow real dialogue—not only announcements—they foster participation, transparency, and a sense of shared responsibility.

Shared Planning and Evaluation

Planning and evaluating together help the community remain focused on its mission while learning from experience. Shared processes encourage ownership, clarify priorities, and allow both successes and difficulties to be addressed honestly and constructively.

Early Attention to Tensions and Conflicts

Small tensions, if ignored, can grow into deeper conflicts. Attending to difficulties early, with calmness and charity, prevents misunderstandings from hardening and helps maintain trust and openness within the community.

Protection of Prayer and Fraternal Moments

Prayer and fraternal moments are not optional additions but essential foundations of community life. Protecting common prayer, meals, and times of informal sharing helps sustain spiritual depth and strengthens bonds among members, even amid heavy workloads.

Ongoing Communication with Provincial Leadership

Regular and open communication with Provincial leadership supports the local superior in his responsibilities. Sharing concerns, seeking guidance, and remaining connected to the wider Province foster communion and help ensure that local decisions are aligned with broader missionary priorities.

Local leadership flourishes when the superior understands himself as a facilitator of shared life and mission.

Conclusion: Leadership Rooted in the Gospel and the Charism

Claretian leadership draws its inspiration from the Gospel and from the missionary charism of St. Anthony Mary Claret. It seeks not power, but fidelity; not control, but communion; not personal success, but mission.

When leadership is lived as service, accompaniment, and discernment, communities become places of life, fraternity, and missionary vitality—credible signs of hope in today’s world.

Questions for Personal and Community Reflection

These questions are offered as aids for prayerful reflection and communal dialogue.

For Superiors

• How do I understand and exercise authority?
• Do I create space for participation and dialogue?
• How do I practice accompaniment and fraternal correction?

For the Community

• Do we feel listened to and respected?
• How do we share responsibility?
• What strengthens or weakens our fraternity today?