OUR INTERNATIONALITY

In the previous INPUT, I had written to you explaining that we are an international congregation. Some religious orders are diocesan. This means that a diocesan order was founded to serve the needs of a particular diocese and is under the authority of the local bishop. Pallottine on the other hand belong to a papal institute. This means we are under the authority of the Congregation for Religious in Rome. Our generalate (or headquarters for all the provinces throughout the world) is located in Rome, close to St. Peter's. This allows us more freedom to move from diocese to diocese, state to state, country to country. Since Pallottines are missionaries, we seek to serve the need where we find it, so it is natural that we would be a papal institute with our central headquarters in Rome.

Consequently, Pallottine Sisters can be found in many countries: England, Ireland, France, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Ukraine, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Brazil, Peru, Belize, India, and the United States. The Pallottine communities are grouped into "provinces" or regions". This means that the Pallottines living in each country can adapt their rules to fit the lifestyle of the culture in that particular country. Each province goes by a special name. (The province's name in the United States is Mary, Queen of Apostles Province. See how important the word "apostle" is for us.)

Being an international congregation gives us an appreciation for the different cultures and the different concerns of people throughout the world. In concrete ways we are working to bring about unity throughout the world. A few years ago, the United States hosted a meeting of the provincials of all the Pallottine provinces. Despite the fact that we did not share a common language, we did share Vincent Pallotti as our founder, our strong desire to bring Christ to everyone, and our mission to call all to be apostles.

If you have any questions about this INPUT or any other issues, please don't hesitate to write and ask. I'll be most happy to clarify or add more information.

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