Friday, April 15, 2011

SOLT General Priest Servant Convokes 5th Ordinary General Chapter

Fr Rogel Rosalinas,
SOLT General Priest Servant
Every five years the SOLT community gathers to elect new leaders in what is called a General Chapter.  The word chapter originally came from Benedictine monks coming together to speak about a chapter (as in book) of their rule.   When different monasteries congregated in a meeting the term was extended to be a "general chapter" to discuss their way of life.  Today Catholic religious communities gather for weeks at a time to discuss different issues that they face in preserving their charism, or ecclesial gift of their community. 


Fr Rogel "Ogie" Rosalinas, the current SOLT General Priest Servant, in a letter dated April 10th of this year, officially convoked the 5th Ordinary Chapter of the Priests' Society.  The Sisters and Lay communities will also gather together to discuss issues in their respective communities.  Fr Ogie has served two terms in office and now, according to the constitutions of the institute is ineligible  for re-election.  He has served the SOLT community for 12 years in administration, 9 as the General, and in his term the number of priests has almost doubled and new missions were started in Australia, Wales, Philippines, United States, Belize, Native American peoples, and others.  The new General Priest Servant will have many formidable tasks to face, the greatest of which will be the application for final approval of the Vatican of SOLT as a Society of Apostolic Life of pontifical rite.  It received vatican approval as diocesan rite in 1994.


There will be two major functions for this coming chapter:


1. Election of new General Priest Servant, Sister Servant, and Lay Servant
2. "The creation and formulation of administrative policies on Governance and Administration, on Ecclesial Teams and on our Missionary Endeavors"


We invite you to pray with us as we invoke the Holy Spirit to grant those attending the chapter and voting on these important matters to be filled with God's wisdom and grace through the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God and Mother of the Church.  The chapter will be held July 4-22 of this year, at Our Lady of Corpus Christi in Corpus Christi, TX.