In our life together, where are we heading? What nourishes the inner fire, and what extinguishes it? Where does the centre of our existence lie? What does it mean to form the heart? What changes are we called to embrace so that our lives may become a sign of hope? How are we to bear witness to the disarmed peace that comes from God? What do we receive from the people among whom we live, and how does this shape the charism?
And today, how can we contribute to the growth of a missionary synodality?
These were some of the questions on which Sr Simona invited participants to reflect during the meetings of the Dicastery with the Conference of Major Superiors and Delegates of Tunisia (COSMADT), as well as with the consecrated men and women present in the country. The meetings took place in Tunis from 21 to 24 March 2026, during the visit of the Prefect, Sr Simona Brambilla, M.C., accompanied by Fr Vincent Hanicotte, C.C.N., Official of the Dicastery.
Upon arriving in Tunis, the meeting with the Bishop, Msgr Nicolas Lhernould, offered an overview of the local Church, in which consecrated persons are “the backbone.” The COSMADT Office also presented, within a spirit of dialogue, the history of Christianity in Tunisia and the current situation of consecrated life in the country.
In dialogue with the consecrated men and women on 22 March, Sr Simona returned to these questions in light of today’s challenges: vocation and identity, formative choices, the relational dimension, and the service of authority.
Fr Vincent presented the service of the Dicastery and the organisation of its work through its various areas of competence.
Reflecting on the synodal path we are called to walk, Sr Simona contrasted two ways of journeying together: one closed in on itself, self-referential and marked by desolation; the other directed toward God, missionary in spirit, freeing, healing, and rekindling the desire to remain with Jesus and to make Him known. This is Christian synodality.
As the meetings continued, and during the COSMADT Assembly on 23 March, Sr Simona once again drew attention to the heart of the person. She presented discernment as the path by which one recognises what leads to Christ and learns to distance oneself from what draws one away from Him, until inner unity is reached and coherence is formed between life and proclamation. She also recalled the importance of personal accompaniment, through regular meetings, as a necessary means of serious formation capable of reaching the inner dynamics of the person.
In dialogue with those present, Sr Simona underlined the need for a conversion that touches relationships: recognising and healing wounds, rebuilding bonds, and opening paths of forgiveness.
During the Assembly, the importance of inculturation and of evangelical and charismatic interculturality was recalled as an “indispensable requirement.” Dialogue between charism and cultures is not merely a necessity, but also an opportunity and a gift: a way of recognising the riches God has placed within every people. To lose this opportunity would mean renouncing the encounter with the human and spiritual experience of a people and, at the same time, contact with a unique and original experience of God entrusted to that people.
From the voice of the Assembly there emerged a deep gratitude for all that had been lived. Sr Simona and Fr Vincent returned to Rome deeply thankful and enriched by the experience. Encounters such as these sustain and nourish the desire and joy of living consecration, mission, and ecclesial service with renewed commitment.
