Rome, Italy. From September 7 to 14, 2025, at the Fraterna Domus retreat house, the World Gathering of Claretian Brothers took place, bringing together 66 missionaries from four continents. Of these, 57 were brothers and 9 priests, who met to reflect on the identity, mission, and future of this specific vocation within the Congregation.
The meeting was the result of a journey begun months earlier with podcasts and virtual encounters that kept reflection and communion alive. Representatives from all the Congregation’s conferences —MICLA, ASCLA, ECLA, and ACLA— gave the gathering a universal and deeply fraternal character. From the General Curia, the Superior General, Fr. Mathew Vattamattam, CMF, together with consultors Carlos Verga and Joseph Mbungu, as well as Joel Nkongolo, CMFF from iClaret, accompanied the participants.
The program was structured around five main themes: identity and vocation, mission and commitment, fraternity and formation, legacy and future, and congregational proposals. These sessions fostered open dialogue on current challenges, such as the decline in vocations, the need to strengthen the holistic formation of brothers, and the call to be prophetic witnesses in culture, education, health, and existential peripheries.
One of the most meaningful moments was the Jubilee pilgrimage to St. Peter’s Basilica, where the brothers crossed the Holy Door and prayed together as a sign of ecclesial communion and synodality. Shared memory also highlighted the quiet yet fruitful lives of many brothers who, with simplicity and fidelity, have marked the Congregation’s history.
Among the final proposals, emphasis was placed on the urgency of promoting vocational ministry with the active participation of brothers, the need for clear formation pathways, and the creation of visibility spaces in the Congregation’s communication channels. Furthermore, a revision of the Constitutions and the Congregational Directory was suggested to update the understanding and place of the brother’s vocation in the Congregation.
The gathering concluded with a message of hope and commitment: to continue walking as one congregational family with a Brother’s Heart, faithful to the charism of St. Anthony Mary Claret and open to the signs of the times.
