Rome, Italy. The 2026 Interculturality Workshop of the Claretian Family concluded on 7 June after eight weeks of online listening, dialogue and shared missionary experience. Held from 6 April to 7 June, the workshop gathered 145 participants from five continents to deepen communion in diversity and strengthen intercultural life and mission.
Participants from different branches of the Claretian Family were organised into 20 small groups, accompanied by 20 facilitators. Sessions were conducted in English, French and Spanish, making the workshop itself a living experience of intercultural encounter.
More than a series of online meetings, the workshop became a space for fraternity, honest conversation and mutual learning. Participants reflected on the joys and challenges of living and serving in multicultural communities. Through personal sharing, they recognised that interculturality involves not only accepting differences but also allowing them to enrich common life and mission.
One participant said that the small groups helped people to “share from the heart.” Others described the experience in terms such as unity, fraternity, patience, dialogue, and togetherness.
Fr. Mathew Vattamattam, CMF, Superior General, and Fr. Carlos Sánchez, CMF, General Prefect of Spirituality and Community life, joined the participants during the workshop. Their presence offered encouragement and spiritual depth, highlighting interculturality as an essential dimension of the Claretian missionary vocation today.
At the conclusion, participants expressed gratitude for the relevance of the themes and the generous service of the facilitators, translators, communication team and organisers. They also proposed practical improvements for future workshops, particularly regarding time zones, internet access and interpretation during common gatherings.
The workshop ended in a Pentecostal spirit: many languages and cultures united as one family for the same mission. Participants returned to their communities and ministries with renewed missionary enthusiasm and a stronger commitment to dialogue, communion and welcoming Christ in every culture.
Source: Jude Thaddeus Langeh, CMF, Service of Discerning Leadership and Interculturality
