The last and the final day of the Triennial Evaluation was lived with mixed feelings. On the one hand everyone was extremely happy and delighted at the wonderful experiences of these five days, on the other hand they were faced with pain and loss of Sr. Geraldine Barratt. Mother General aptly said: “The death of Sr. Geraldine reminds everyone to live on the essentials of life”.

The morning session had three objectives: the first one was to come to a consensus with regard to the formulation of themes for the General Chapter XXIV; the second was to identify two or three areas of transformation which can be carried out by the PCI; and the last was to pinpoint the modalities for the transmission of the Triennial Evaluation to Sisters.

In her concluding talk, Mother General proposed  a few practical points: give priority to vocation pastoral in all the provinces, revive the Past Pupils’ Movement, organise a Congress for the Past- pupils who are teachers on Preventive System, accompany young people so that they feel at home with the Sisters and be joyful always, for a joyless community is meaningless. Finally, La Madre expressed her desire that each Sister realizes that she cannot be substituted by anyone unlike the role or position she occupies in life.

The requiem Mass for Sr. Geraldine was held in the afternoon in which all the participants took part. There were many Sisters, past-pupils and well-wishers who attended the service.  Much was spoken in appreciation of her life of Dedication and Commitment for the Poor and the Marginalized.

The Triennial Evaluation came to an end with a sumptuous dinner and a brief get-together.  The air was charged with love and gratitude. Everyone felt proud of being a part of the great big Salesian Family.

The liturgy of the day centred on the theme, “courageous enough to do prophetic things together with Mary’. Fr. Varghese Kalluvachal SDB who celebrated the Holy Eucharist said that the Beatitudes can certainly give directions to arrive at this. As usual everyone awaited to hear from  the Mother who spoke so forcefully on the importance of forming themselves with the laity.

She emphasised the power of the Preventive System in the mission as educators of the young people. Mother added that Education according to the preventive system can humbly contribute to a cultural change necessary for regenerating society beginning with the young.

The laity and the young people shared with the FMAs their problems, expectations and areas to venture and proposals to follow. While they were highly appreciative of the services extended by the FMAs,they expressed their aspiration and determination to join hands with Sisters in all that they do. They also pointed out several areas where the Sisters can make use of their expertise.

Sharing in the pain and loss of the host province at the unexpected demise of Sr. Geraldine Barratt the participants decided to cancel the long awaited outing and anticipated the sessions of the following day so as to participate at the funeral.

The afternoon session had the purpose of proposing the theme for the next General Chapter and finalizing the modalities for transmitting the Triennial Evaluation in their provinces. The evening prayer organized by the Province of Shillong centred on the 140^th year of the missionary expedition of the FMA triggered in every one love and gratitude towards Missionaries.

Reported by Sr. Margaret Mathai