Greetings from Buenos Aires!

July 22nd

Geetings from Buenos Aires CLC Canada members,

The CLC/CVX World Assembly 2018 in Buenos Aires has officially begun. As delegates, Michelle Mahoney, Catherine Kelly, and Trevor Scott arrived in safely and eagerly in Buenos Aires… to join over 250 others delegates from around the world! To accommodate us, all of our official plenary sessions take place under a big white enclosed tent. Our first day was exciting in the opportunity to meet and get to know many of these members of CLC/CVX from around the world… including our French Canadian counterparts. But today was especially exciting in receiving and hearing read to us a letter of support from Pope Francis to open our Assembly… and hearing it at the very college in Buenos Aires that he himself taught at for so many years – Centro Loyola – before being called to Rome. If he was to come to visit Centro Loyola right now… he wouldn’t recognize the big white tent on the grounds… but I sure he would approve:)

With this support we were introduced to each of the National communities in true olympic style, with flags and applauses! Now the flags are hung all around us along the walls of the big white tent:) We then entered into the spirit of the grace of our Assembly: “We desire greater depth and integration in the living out of our CLC charism in the world today,” followed by a beautiful Mass celebrated by the Jesuit Provincial of the Argentina/Uruguay Province.

It continued to be a full day with small group discussions on the topics of: 1) Our personal history with CLC; 2) Portraits of our National communities; 3) And what we hope for in this 10 day Assembly. This was a wonderful way to get to know many more of the different members from around the world in a deeper way. One of the graces that was received was that the difficulties we face as a National community are shared by so many other Nationals… so we are not alone. Something to take comfort in.

Finally, to end our first Assembly day we were introduced to the candidates of the coming World Executive Council for the next 5 years for us to consider in our voting on the last full day of the Council.

As you can imagine it was a very tiring day, especially after such long journeys in getting here for all of us… but also very exhilarating too.

By the way… you may be wondering how the weather is way down here in Buenos Aires… it is winter… it is cool! Even down to zero at night. Catherine even brought her winter coat… and today she wore it:) Many are bearing hats and scarves… scarves that we were given in our care bag with the CLC/CVX Assembly logo!

Please keep us in your prayers as Michelle, Catherine and Trevor continue on their Assembly journeys and enter more deeply into the graces of this special gathering.

CLC/CVX World Assembly Blessings to each of you,

Trevor Scott, sj