It happens only once every six years. That’s when Viatorian delegates from around the world are elected from each province to attend the congregation’s General Chapter meeting. This historic gathering — the 31st in the history of the Viatorian Community — will take place in July 2024 in Ariccia, Italy.
Viatorians enjoy a lighter moment before the meeting begins.
Viatorians in this country gathered the day after Thanksgiving at the Province Center and via Zoom, to discuss some of the issues facing the community at this time and ultimately to elect delegates. At the end of the meeting, Fr. Thomas von Behren, CSV, Br. Peter Lamick, CSV, and Fr. Daniel Hall, CSV, were elected, with Br. John Eustice, CSV, designated as an alternate should one of three be unable to attend.
Fr. Mark Francis, CSV, will be attending in his role as Provincial of the Province of Chicago, along with Fr. Robert M. Egan, CSV, Superior General and the members of the General Council.
The General Chapter is described as the supreme governing body of the Viatorian Community, when its delegates discern challenges facing the congregation and cultivate ways to animate its mission in the future. Specifically, the goals of this chapter are to examine governing structures and vocations, while “rediscovering the community’s identity, strengthening its bonds of communion and relaunching its mission.” Near the end of the three-week chapter, delegates will elect the next Superior General.
Fr. Thomas von Behren
Br. Lamick, who is the youngest Viatorian in this country, described the chance to attend the General Chapter for the first time — and have a seat at the table — as a thrill.
Br. Peter Lamick
“I am excited to be one of the representatives of the Chicago Province to take part in this intensive and critical discernment process,” he says, “setting the future direction of our International Viatorian Community.”
Fr. von Behren has attended the General Chapter before, including during the years he served as provincial, but each time he finds it a privilege to engage in a process of discernment with other professed members of the international congregation.
Br. John Eustice
“It is an honor to be a representative of the Chicago Province and to be able to actively participate in creating the future direction of the Viatorian
Fr. Daniel Hall
Community,” Fr. von Behren says. “With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the delegates are entrusted to be a voice for the future for the entire Congregation of the Clerics of St. Viator. I am looking forward to gathering with my international Viatorian brothers during the month of July in Ariccia, Italy on the hillsides of Rome.”