Special Chapter Prayer written by Marie-Jeanne Elonga-Abompi RSCJ
Sister Barbara Dawson, our Superior General, and the 67 capitulants from around the Society, have formally begun the 2021 Special Chapter, which will address and discern two issues: how we will reconfigure our way of being One Body, and share our resources for the future of our life and mission.
Over the past year and a half, each of our areas/districts/provinces has held their respective Chapters in preparation for the Special Chapter. You can see the images for each area/district/province’s Chapter below.
We invite the Family of the Sacred Heart to accompany us by praying with us. The Special Chapter Prayer is in the slideshow at the top of the page, and other prayers and prayer resources will be posted here daily. We also encourage you to follow the news and updates about the Special Chapter that will be posted on this page.
Let us entrust this process and our discernment to Mary, source of God’s presence among us, so that we too may open our hearts to God’s call to us now and continue to reveal God’s love as women of faith among the people of God.
December 2 Closing Ceremony of the Special Chapter in Guadalajara
Thank you for joining us at the mass on December 2, to celebrate the closing of the Special Chapter. If you missed it, you can watch a recording of the Mass on YouTube, by clicking on the video to the left. To watch the Mass in French or Spanish, please click on those languages at the top of this page.
- The celebrant was Father José Juan Cervantes cs.
- The mass was celebrated live and streamed from Guadalajara, Mexico with the community there.
- The mass was celebrated in Spanish, with simultaneous interpretation into English and French.
Below you can download the schedule of the ceremony, the closing talk, the homily, and see some photos from the Mass. Thank you for celebrating with us!
Official video of the Special Chapter
The song "Artisans of Hope" was composed by Cecilia Rivero Borrell, rscj and is sung in the three languages of the Society to express our internationality. The video was made by Clara Malo, rscj, and the final result is the fruit of a collective effort: sisters who collaborated in the translation, or who sent photos of our mission in the world.
The song, composed especially for this Chapter, celebrates four calls: to reach new frontiers, to live more humanly in the radical style of Jesus of Nazareth, to be silent and to be and act as One Body.
To see subtitles in English, French or Spanish, click on the settings button located at the bottom right of the video, then click on “Subtitles”, and choose your preferred language.
November 21 Mass to celebrate the Feast of Christ the King and the Society’s foundation
Thank you for joining us at the mass on November 21, to celebrate the Feast of Christ the King and the foundation of the Society 221 years ago. If you missed it, you can watch a recording of the Mass on YouTube, by clicking on the video to the left. To watch the Mass in French or Spanish, please click on those languages at the top of this page.
- The celebrant was Xavier Léonard, sj, a member of the Jesuit Curia.
- The mass was celebrated live and streamed from Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat’s family home in Joigny with the community there.
- The mass was celebrated in French, with simultaneous interpretation into English and Spanish.
Below you can download the schedule of the ceremony and see the photo gallery. Thank you for celebrating with us!
Opening Mass of the Special Chapter
Thank you for joining us at the Opening Mass of the Special Chapter on November 10th. If you missed it, you can watch a recording of the Mass on YouTube, by clicking on the video to the left. To watch the Mass in French or Spanish, please click on those languages at the top of this page.
- The celebrant was Douglas Marcouiller S.J., a member of the Jesuit Curia.
- The Mass was celebrated ‘live’, with over 300 participants on Zoom, and streamed from the Mother House with a congregation there.
- The Mass was celebrated in English. (with simultaneous translation into French and Spanish)
Below you can download the schedule of the ceremony as well as other resources from the Mass. Thank you for celebrating with us!
Praying together during the Special Chapter
We are inviting the whole Society to journey together in prayer. It is a powerful thought to imagine every RSCJ praying the same prayers together during these days.
Here you can find the day’s prayer, as well as other prayer resources and all the prayers from the preceding days. We are offering you a simple format – an image, some music, a few words. Some days, one of these may speak to you more than another. Go where you are drawn. Stay with whatever is helpful for as long as you want or are able.
Preparing a special prayer space for yourself and/or your community might be helpful throughout the Chapter.
Let us all hold each other and all the capitulants in prayer during this important time.
Daily prayers
Novena for the Special Chapter
We Are One Body
RSCJ are doing something new
To see subtitles in English, French or Spanish, click on the YouTube logo located at the bottom right of the screen to go to the YouTube page, then click on the settings button, also on the bottom right, then click on “Subtitles”, and choose your preferred language.
RSCJ set sail for the future
To see subtitles in English, French or Spanish, click on the YouTube logo located at the bottom right of the screen to go to the YouTube page, then click on the settings button, also on the bottom right, then click on “Subtitles”, and choose your preferred language.
To gain access to the Special Chapter toolkit, click on "Login" in the top right corner, and
enter the same username and password that you use for the RSCJ International intranet.
Images from the Provincial Chapters
Over the past year and a half, each of our areas/districts/provinces has held their respective Chapters in preparation for the Special Chapter, which will be held in November 2021. You can see the images for each area/district/province’s Chapter in the section below.
