Religious superiors, delegates and community representatives gathered for the 37 th Annual General Assembly of the Conference of Religious of the Antilles at La Virgen del Carmen Guest & Retreat House in Curaçao , Netherlands Antilles.

The theme for the conference was Community: Yeast of Consecrated Life. Over 40 religious attended the conference from all parts of the Caribbean, Central America and South America. Also in attendance was the papal Nuncio, Archbishop Thomas Gullickson and the Antilles Episcopal Conference liaison person, Bishop Francis Alleyne, OSB, bishop of Georgetown, Guyana.

The days were filled with prayer, meetings, workshops, a visit to a local parish and sightseeing. It was a time to renew friendships, strengthen one another and be challenged to understand consecrated life in the Caribbean at the dawn of the 21 st century and at the beginning of a new papacy.

The nuncio, Archbishop Gullickson, thanked the religious for their tremendous contribution to the life of the Church in various parts of the Caribbean and he pointed out that the witness value of being poor, chaste and obedient like Christ never goes out of style. The ways of service change but the counter-cultural challenge to contemporary society is always present.

Group photo of participants

Srs Phyllis and Julie

Sr Caroljean Willie, SC

Bishop Alleyne, the liaison for the Antilles Episcopal Conference praised the work of religious in education, social ministry and parish life in the dioceses where they serve in.

The highlight of the conference was a two-day presentation by Sr Caroljean Willie, SC on the theme of the assembly, Community: Yeast of Consecrated Life.

Sr Caroljean is a diversity consultant who works with religious communities, hospitals, dioceses, educational institutions in the United States , Latin America and the Caribbean.

The thrust of her talks was the idea that all people live within and have learned a culture from parents, siblings and neighbours.

Each person carries that learned culture and interacts with the world out of that culture.

People approach the same situation from very different understandings of the world and will come to different conclusions and decisions based on the culture that educated them.

Cultural differences and approaches are not inherently “right” or wrong” and in fact point to the possibility of several “right” or correct ways of reacting to a situation.

As religious, we are called to respect, love and cherish each person we meet and live with as a child of God, made in God's own image. Mutual understanding and respect lead to peaceful resolutions of conflict and disagreement and will avoid the fierce animosity that characterises the interactions of peoples from divergent cultures today.

As consecrated celibates, living in community, acceptance and celebration of the diversity within each member of our communities provide the yeast, the leaven for changing the world we live in and are part of.

The theme Community: Yeast of Consecrated Life was carried into the four workshops offered to the conference participants. Fr Joseph Harris, CSSp discussed the Code of Canon Law as it pertains to Religious Life and its emphasis on bringing the members of their congregations to a closer imitation of Jesus as Saviour.

Br Bernard Spitzley, SVD presented “Challenges of Multicultural Living”. “Transitions and Change along the Life Cycle” was done by Sr Phyllis Warfe, SJC while Sr Julie Peters, SSM presented “Formation” with components on recruitment, screening and training in a multicultural setting.

The conference was more than simply a time to work, it was also a time to learn more about a part of the Caribbean many of us had never visited before. We celebrated Eucharist at a local parish and were enthusiastically welcomed by the parishioners.

A group of representatives visited the Governor of the Island who expressed his gratitude for the visit. All 45 participants shared dinner with the Bishop of Willemstad, Curaçao, Most Rev Luis Secco, DD. On the last full day of the conference, after all business had been completed, we spent the afternoon touring historic Willemstad.