On the Original Constitutions

St. Gaspar Bertoni had actually lived the early Stigmatine life with his companions from 1816-1840, before he ever wrote the Original Constitutions. Those last years of his life, the Saintly Stigmatine Founder was mostly confined to his room, and often to his bed, due to his deteriorating health. As a result, even though this little document of the written Rule of Life was the fruit of much serious prayer and long experience, it was left incomplete under a variety of aspects. One of the challenges that the Stigmatines have faced is one of interpretation of what is the manner of being an Apostolic Missionary at the Service of Bishops – an ideal taken also from Rm 12:1, ff.: make of your lives an oblation to God’s Mercy. An inter-Province Commission studied the matter in some depth – and the Commission Document presented here [known as Convergenze, in Italian – or, Agreement in English] is the end result of that meeting of serious study together.

Commission for the Original Constitutions of the Founder: Points of Agreement

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