Fraternal visits and monastic exchanges
The visits to Bose of monks and nuns from other communities have forged or renewed ties of friendship and brotherhood in the common from the following the Lord, thus permitting a fruitful exchange of experiences
Bose, dicembre 2010
The visits to Bose of monks and nuns from other communities have forged or renewed ties of friendship and brotherhood in the common from the following the Lord, thus permitting a fruitful exchange of experiences. At the beginning of April the assembly of the Italian monastic conference for the first time brought to Bose around thirty abbots and priors of the various Benedictine congregations present in Italy and seven abbesses, together with the abbot general Notker Wolf. Numerous monks and nuns came for the liturgical conference and that on Orthodox spirituality. In addition, we recall with joy having welcomed among us in these last few months m. Anne-Emmanuelle, abbess of the Trappist monastery of Blauvac, together with sr Raphaël; fr Ivo of the Trappist monastery of Westmalle (Belgium); sr Emanuela Maria of Viboldone; sr Luciana, sr Emanuela, and sr Anastasia, Benedictine nuns of Lecce; sr Zita, Cistercian nun of Kismaros (Hungary); br Wissam, monk from Iraq of the Syro-Catholic Church; br Drasko and br Christopher, Australian monks of the Emmaus ecumenical monastic community being founded in Tasmania.
Besides numerous occasions of brief fraternal visits to other monastic communities, some of us have stayed in other monasteries for a few days of retreat and comparison: sr Roberta and sr Alice at the Trappist monastery of Blauvac; sr Natalia at the Cistercian abbey of Maigrauge (Fribourg); sr Elisa at the Benedictine abbey of Viboldone; sr Antonella at the Trappist monastery of Vitorchiano; sr Raffaela in France to preach a retreat to the Benedictine community of Prailles, and in Greece, first at the Orthodox monastery of Ormylia together with sr Lara, then at the monastery of Zalongo (Preveza); br Vincenzo at the Benedictine abbey of En Calcat in France.
Sr Alice participated in the meeting of the ecumenical monastic group “Kaire”, which this year was held at the deaconesses of Reuilly in Versailles. Sr Lisa gave a course on the Gospel of Luke to novices of French monasteries, organized at the monastery of Aiguebelle. Br Edoardo and br Stefano took part in the ecumenical conference in Chevetogneon The word of God calls to unity: spiritual ecumenism and the responsibility of the Churches. Sr Raffaela returned to Xaviá Chaniá on the island of Crete to participate in a conference on Monastic life and tradition.
Br Adalberto and br Edoardo, while they were in Kiev for a conference, were able to visit several Orthodox monasteries of the region.