Celebrating the General Chapter 2021
The SDC celebrated its 6th General Chapter from 2 to 8 August 2021. The Chapter was held at Dar il-Ħanin Samaritan.
Thirty Delegates, from different countries were the SDC carries out its apostolate, gathered and discussed the way forward for the SDC for the next six years. The Chapter was presided by Natalino Camilleri, the outgoing Superior General.
The Chapter elected Roberto Zammit as the fifth Superior General of the SDC and Philip Bezzina, Joseph Gauci and Ruben Pace as members of the General Executive Council.
Eventually, Ruben Pace was chosen as the Secretary General and Philip Bezzina as the General Treasurer.
Participation in CYM and Vision Academy Programme 2021
Four Members and twenty-two Candidates from Malta took part in a two-week Vision Academy programme organised by the University of Notre Dame McGrath Institute for Church Life. This programme ran from Monday 21st June till Friday 2nd July with the main session held online at 7:00 p.m. Malta time. The main theme was taken from St Luke’s gospel: “The Road to Emmaus”.
A specific programme with four different tracks – Music, Testimony, Scripture and Art – was created for the Candidates by mentors on campus. Every day, the Candidates, in their groups, discussed a specific theme within their tracks.
The Members followed a different programme specifically for Youth Ministers which included discussions about Liturgy, Culture, Science and Religion and Art amongst others.
Dedication of the Madonna of the Verbum Dei Shrine in Preca Cottage (USA)
A copy of the statue showing ‘Mary, Seat of Wisdom” by Ade Bethune was placed and inaugurated in the garden of Preca Cottage (IN, USA). Shown as a young child sitting on his mother’s lap, Jesus points to an open Bible with these words, so dear to the SDC, visibly engraved: Verbum Dei Caro Factum Est. The statue was placed in a cedar shrine box built by Drew Neeser.
Visitors and passers by may freely enter this part of the garden at Preca Cottage to pray and reflect.
Rev Wilson Miscamble C.S.C., from the University of Notre Dame, presided at the dedication which was held on 24 June 2021.
Publication: a biography of the Founder
Preca Publications, the publishing house of the SDC, published San Ġorġ Preca, ħaj bħal qatt qabel (St George Preca, still alive with us) bySDC member Ġorġ Borg. The biography of the Founder is presented in more than 350 anecdotes gathered by the author through numerous interviews and painstaking research. The book was published in Maltese on the 20th anniversary of the beatification of the Founder.