Since Saturday, September 27, the Retreat of the General Council of the Shalom Community with the Regional Leaders has begun and will continue until October 11, at the General Diaconia.
According to Kléber Marinho, member of the General Council and Missionary Assistant of the Shalom Community, four key points will mark the retreat: evaluation of the missions, analysis of foundation requests for the year 2026, and discussion on various topics presented by the Council. All these moments are filled with prayer, listening to the participants of the retreat, and discernment in the Spirit.
“And it is very beautiful that we can have varied topics and different perspectives from brothers who come from all parts of the world to collaborate on this matter. Thus, the retreat as a whole is for me a great experience of collegiality, where the Community together with its Council, the moderator together with his council, works by listening to everyone. It is very characteristic of the moderator himself, of Moysés: to work by listening to people, listening a lot,” he emphasizes.
This will not be the first time the group gathers. In April of this year, the regional leaders participated in a training promoted by the Missionary Assistance, where they were able to deepen essential aspects of the governance of the Shalom Community.
The role of the Regional Leaders
The Regional Leader is a member of the Community appointed by the General Moderator, with the mission of strengthening unity among the missions of a given region, providing a close presence and effective accompaniment. He also has the task of fostering missionary dynamism and spreading the charism in that region.
Here is the list of regional leaders of the Shalom Community:
- Pe. Cristiano Pinheiro Campelo Bede (New York), Regional Leader North America
- Maria Vitória da Silva Barbosa (Asunción), Regional Leader Hispanic America
- Pe. Francisco Tiago Barroso Soares Júnior (Lisbon), Regional Leader Europe
- Francisco Marcelo Davi Soares (Maputo), Regional Leader Africa
- Lorena Cavalcante Gadelha de Oliveira (Haifa), Regional Leader Asia
- David Araújo da Silva (Teresina), Regional Leader Northeast I
- Gleison Lima de Azevedo (Salvador), Regional Leader Northeast II
- Andréia Barros de Lima (Belém), Regional Leader North
- Francis Wesley Almeida Farias (Brasilia), Regional Leader Southeast and Central-West
- Breno André Alves Dias (São Paulo), Regional Leader São Paulo
- Raissa Bruna da Silva Sousa (Curitiba), Regional Leader South
