A total of 269 people will take part in the chapter:
– 224 participating Chapter members, including 209 priests and 15 lay confreres;
– 17 translators, 12 people for logistics, 8 from IME Comunicazione, 4 for the iNfo Salesian Agency (ANS), 4 for IT.
Translation will take place in the five official languages: Italian, French, Spanish, English and Portuguese. The service will be carried out through two groups coordinated by Fr Gianni Rolandi:
– Interpreters for simultaneous translation in the hall;
– Translators for the preparation of texts in the 5 languages, with or without the help of automatic translation;
At the level of IT and technological services, two web portals are provided:
– a portal used so far to collect material from the Salesian Provinces and Vice-Provinces, to complete Chapter members' files and answer the questions of Provincial Chapters Moderator;
– the main portal for the management of the General Chapter, established by "Protocolli Creativi" in collaboration with several Salesian experts in the field. Each Chapter member at GC29 will receive a tablet configured with the portal that will allow all the necessary interaction during work sessions.
The material received from Salesian circumscriptions has been categorised between core areas, juridical issues and various contributions. It is made up as follows:
– At the linguistic level, there are 125 files in English, 77 in Italian, 66 in Spanish, and 31 each for French and
Portuguese.-At the core area level: 89 related to core 1; another 89 to core 2; 86 to core 3; 47 to juridical issues; 13 to other issues; 9 to groups; 11 to individuals.
The material was reviewed by the Secretariat and the Moderator before the meetings of the Pre-Chapter Commissions – the juridical commission and the commission regarding the main theme – the former meeting from 1 to 10 September, the latter from 18 to 28 September.
As for logistics: halls, rooms, chapels and other services are already prepared in Valdocco, Turin at the Salesian Mother House which will also be the site for GC29 work.
In addition, a general calendar has already been drawn up, which provides for:
- 16 February 2025, in Turin: beginning of GC29;
- 17-19 February 2025: retreat led by Fr Pascual Chávez Villanueva, 9th Successor of Don Bosco;
- every Saturday, a time of reflection and discernment will be provided, animated by Fr Stefano Martoglio, President of the Chapter;
- every Sunday, significant trips will be organised to promote the spiritual and fraternal climate among Chapter members;
- 24-29 March 2025: week of discernment and elections accompanied by Fr Mauro-Giuseppe Lepori, O.Cist;
- 12 April 2025, in Rome: conclusion of the GC29, in the context of the Jubilee.
Finally, the GC29 Moderator, Fr Owoudou, concludes: "I want to thank the Rector Major for this beautiful theme and for his trust in us; the community and the Provincials for the human resources made available; Fr Stefano Martoglio and the entire Technical Commission for the work done; the General Council Secretariat, Fr Guido Garino, who helped me to manage the Extraordinary Visitations along with the first stages of the journey towards GC29; and the confreres at Headquarters and in Valdocco in Turin for their skills. The careful preparation, the services provided and broad international participation will allow us to experience this event of grace for our Congregation in the best way possible."
According to the Salesian Constitutions, the General Chapter represents "the supreme authority over the whole Congregation" (C. 120) and is "the principal sign of Congregation's unity in diversity (...), the fraternal meeting in which the Salesians carry out a communal reflection to keep themselves faithful to the gospel and to the charism of the Founder and sensitive to the needs of time and place. Through the General Chapter, the entire Society, opening itself to the guidance of the Spirit of the Lord, seeks to discern God's will at a specific moment in history, for the purpose pf rendering the Church better service" (art. 146).
