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Solemn profession of Sr. Gina Marucci at the monastery of SS. Trinità (Italy) On the Solemnity of the Annunciation (25 March 2025), we celebrated the solemn profession of our sister Gina Marucci. It was a great celebration for us and for all those who joined our community that filled us with joy. The celebration was presided over by our Bishop Andrea Migliavacca, together with celebrated Dom Stefano Zanolini, President of the Congregation of St. Bernard in Italy, and other priests who are friends of the community. We thank God for this definitive step of our sister and for the grace of being able to continue our journey together in gratitude for what the Lord has accomplished and continues to accomplish. https://www.cistercensicortona.it/ ocist.org

Dom Peter McCarthy, abbot of O.L. of Guadalupe (diocese of Portland in Oregon, USA) since 1994, presented his resignation to the Abbot General for the reasons mentioned in ST 40.A of the Constitutions. The Abbot General, with the consent of his Council, accepted the resignation which became effective on March 9th 2025. On March 27th 2025, the community of Guadalupe postulated as Abbot for an indefinite term, Father Scott Dilworth . A dispensation from Cst 39.3 (number of years of solemn profession) was granted by the Holy See and the election was confirmed. The installation of the new abbot took place on March 28th. Dom Scott was born in 1973 in Livonia, Michigan (USA). He entered Guadalupe in 2013, made his solemn profession in 2021 and was ordained a priest in 2023. At the time of his election, he was prior of the community. ocso.org

On 28 March, during the celebration of the 9th Ordinary Chapter of the Congregation of Castile, Mother Eugenia Pablo was elected Abbess President, after Mother Kandida Saratxaga had completed her period of ministry. We offer her our most sincere gratitude for her faithful and fraternal service to all the communities of the Congregation and to the Order. We pray for the new service of Mother Eugenia and the whole Congregation. ocist.org

Following the resignation of Mother Marianne Zürcher (elected Abbess on 13 June 2011), on Tuesday 25 March 2025, in the presence of Dom Marc de Pothuau, Abbot of Hauterive and President of the election, the Sisters' Chapter elected Mother Marie-Agnès BERGER as the new Abbess of the Abbey of Notre-Dame de la Maigrauge. Having accepted her election, she was confirmed and immediately installed, in accordance with the prescriptions of the law and the Constitutions of the Congregation of Mehrerau. ocist.org

On March 25, 2025, Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord, Sister Francesca Mráčková made solemn profession at the monastery of Naši Paní (Czech Rep.). Sister Francesca was born in 1984 in Prague (Czech Rep.). She entered Naši Paní in 2015 and made first profession in 2019. ocso.org https://www.trapistky.cz/

Mother Pilar Germán, Pontifical Commissary of the community of Alloz (diocese of Pamplona, Spain) since 2014, offered her resignation as Pontifical Commissary to the Holy See in September 2024, in view of an affiliation of the community of Alloz to the community of La Palma (diocese of Cartagena, Spain). On March 11th 2025 the Holy See accepted her resignation, and approved the affiliation of Alloz to La Palma according to the legislation accepted ad experimentum by the General Chapter of September 2022. By this affiliation, Mother Carmen Jesús Serrano Ruiz , abbess of La Palma, becomes the major superior of the community of Alloz. ocso.org https://www.monasteriodealloz.org/

On 11 February 2025, Mother Marie-Pascale Dran, Abbess of Brialmont (diocese of Liège, Belgium), presented her resignation to the Abbot General in accordance with vote 29 of the General Chapter, September 2022. On 4 March 2025, the Abbot General, with the consent of his Council, accepted it and it became effective 18 March 2025. On 18 March 2025, at the request of Dom Xavier Frisque, Superior ad nutum of Orval and Father Immediate of Brialmont, the Abbot General and his Council, in the name of the General Chapter, suspended the exercise of autonomy of the community of Brialmont and appointed Mother Marie-Pascale Dran as Monastic Commissary of the community (Cst. 34bis.1). The appointment became effective immediately. ocso.org

On March 24th 2025, Dom John Bosco Kamali completed his second six-year term as abbot of O.L. Victoria (diocese of Masaka, Uganda). On the same date, Dom Isaac Majoor, abbot of Tilburg and Father Immediate of Victoria, appointed the same Dom John Bosco Kamali as superior ad nutum of the community. ocso.org

Discussion on the Church in China The Benedictine Commission on China 2025 was held on 15 March at Sant’Anselmo. This year’s meeting saw the highest number of participants in recent years, including notable figures such as Abbot President Javier Aparicio of the Saint Ottilien Congregation, Abbot President Bernard Lorent of the Alliance Inter-Monastères, Abbot Blasio Park of Waegwan Abbey, Mother Prioress General Rosann Ocken of the Missionary Benedictine Sisters of Tutzing Congregation, and Mother Abbess Ildefonsa Paluzzi of Monastero San Giovanni Battista di Roma, among others. In addition to the on-site attendees, there were online participants, such as Abbot General Bernardus Peters, OCSO, and representatives from the Olivetan Benedictine Sisters of Busan, South Korea. In total, 19 participants were present in person, and four joined remotely. The meeting began in the morning with an opening address by Abbot Primate Jeremias Schroeder, followed by participant introductions. The first session focused on updates and reports regarding participants’ communities’ engagements with China. Later in the morning, two guests from the Dicastery for Evangelization, Fr. Pietro Murrali from the China Desk and Fr. Luciano Morra, SJ, from the Pastoral Commission, joined the meeting. They gave presentations on their work related to China and answered questions. The session concluded before midday prayer at Sant’Anselmo, followed by a shared lunch in the refectory. In the afternoon, an additional ten Chinese participants joined the meeting, including priests, seminarians, religious studying in Rome, and one layperson. The session featured a keynote presentation by Fr. Prior Norbert Du of Holy Cross Abbey in Jilin, China, who provided an analytical report on the Church in China and proposed future development perspectives. His presentation was followed by an open discussion and Q&A, marking the first time in BCC history that a large number of Chinese nationals participated directly in the discussion. It is also worth noting that this year’s meeting introduced an AI-powered live-text translation system, which significantly enhanced accessibility and mutual understanding among participants who spoke English, German, Italian, Korean and Chinese as their native languages. osb.org

Mokoto became an abbey at the OCSO General Chapter in September 2022. Since the war prevented us from holding an abbey blessing at Mokoto itself, up in the hills at an altitude of 1,800 meters, we had to wait. On March 2, 2025, our bishop kindly agreed to perform the blessing, not in Mokoto, but at Goma Cathedral. The community comprises 36 brothers. The political and military situation remains complicated for the population as a whole. We know that you are praying for us and for the whole population. We thank you for this. In trust and hope, in communion with you. ocso.org

On Tuesday 11 March 2025, Sister Marie-Christine Messin succeeded Sister Anne-Sophie Robitaillie as Prioress of the community of Brou-sur-Chantereine (France). The monastery of Jésus Crucifié (Jesus Crucified), formerly the Saint-Joseph monastery of the congregation of Jésus Crucifié (Jesus Crucified Congregation), has been part of the Sainte Bathilde congregation since 2024. The Congregation of Jesus Crucified no longer exists. https://www.benedictines-ste-bathilde.fr/les-monasteres/monastere-de-brou-sur-chantereine/ Sr Marie-Christine Messin.

We inform you of a new scam attempt of fake mails sent by with the address: lluctorcalocist@gmail.com. If someone receives an email from this address, they should absolutely not respond to it. This is obviously a scam. Please be careful. Below we present the emails that some Superiors have received: Von: Lluc Torcal O'Cist Gesendet: Sonntag, 16. März 2025 10:04 Betreff: Aus Rome Guten Morgen. Ich überweise heute Morgen 146.800 € von unserem Generalatskonto auf Ihr Konto in Austria. Ich werde Ihnen eine detaillierte E-Mail mit den Einzelheiten zum Betrag senden. Bitte bestätigen Sie, ob dies die korrekte Kontonummer AT27 3700 0000 0571 9422 ist. Mit freundlichen Grüßen, P. Lluc Torcal, O.Cist ocist.org