The planning of the Oblate Congress 2021 is progressing well. The International Planning Team tasked with the realization of the Congress gathered at Sant’Anselmo, Rome, from November 4-10, 2019. This is the second time the Planning Team has met in Rome to discuss the progress being made by the different Task Forces, Core Team and Bureaus.
Different monasteries were represented by 25 participants from Europe, the Americas, Africa and Asia. Father Benoit Allogia, a French-born monk of Saint Vincent Archabbey in the United States, who now resides at Sant’Anselmo, is overseeing the planning for the new Congress having succeded Father Edward Linton of Saint Meinrad Archabbey (USA).
The international Congress takes place every four years and includes Oblates and Oblate Directors from across the globe. The theme for the next congress is “Moving Forward: Living the Wisdom of the Rule”. The Oblate Congress will be held from November 6-12, 2021 at Fraterna Domus, Sacrofano, Roma.
The 2021 Congress will also explore topics such as Oblate formation, ways to live the Benedictine values in the 21st century and active practice of listening, community, consensus, humility, hospitality, prayer and praise.
Elba Rodriguez, an Oblate from Colombia, represents the WCCM Oblate Community in the International Planning Committee. She has been active in the Task Forces Islands of Silence and Translations into Spanish, one of the five main languages for the congress.
The objective of the Task Force Islands of Silence is to provide an experience on how the contemplative dimension of the Oblate life interweaves with the living tradition of the Rule. Silence might be lived in many different ways, including meditation, and the relevance of it in the Oblate life is stressed in different sections by St. Benedict.
The planning team will keep Oblates informed of developments related to the Congress through regular newsletters and through social media.