The voting procedure was held in two distinct moments of the day. This morning, they proceeded to vote for the election of the councillor for Social Communications. Fr. Tarcisio Scaramussa received a large consensus registered at the Chapter. Accepting the task assigned to him by the chapter, the new councillor expressed his acceptance as follows: “The temptation to say don’t touch me is strong, but the Chapter assembly communicates to me the will of God and therefore I am forced to say yes; therefore I accept”. Before the words of the newly elected, the Rector Major thanked Fr. Martinelli for his work of animating the sector of Social communication and Salesian Family for 2 six-year terms. Fr. Tarcisio Scaramussa is 52 years and is born in Brasil. He was coordinator of the national team of youth pastoral, president of the Conference of Provincials of Brasil, and provincial vicar. From ’97 he was provincial of the province of Brasile-Belo Horizonte.

In the afternoon, the assembly took up the voting of the councillor for the missions. Fr. Francis Alencherry was elected at the second ballot having obtained the number required for the majority. Before he turned to the newly elected, the Rector Major thanked the out-going councillor Fr. Luciano Odorico for his 12 years of service to the missions. Accepting the responsibility conferred to him, Fr. Alencherry declared: “I know that this is a very difficult substitution for a person like Fr. Odorico, however seeing the will of God in this assembly, I return back 40 years when I left my home to become a missionary. I always wanted the desire to become a missionary at the borders. Slowly the mission began to grow bigger in my life. Today, I see that the Lord calls me to go to the ends of the earth to announce the gospel. I am happy to accept”. Fr. Alencherry is also 52 years. Born in India, he was a member of the national commission for Formation and is presently the superior of the province of Kolkata (Calcutta).

The last phase of the voting was concentrated on the choice of the economer general. The large majority of the assembly expressed their reconfirmation of Fr. Giovanni Mazzali, who, responding to the question posed by the Rector Major, he said in a brief and humorous way: “Since all are in a hurry to leave this hall, I accept”. Fr. Giovanni Mazzali was born in Italy in 1947. Economer General since the last six years (1996-2002), he was previously provincial of the province of Ligure-Toscana.

The first part of elections of councillors for the sectors having been completed, the members will have a brief pause till tomorrow afternoon. At 15.30 they will reassemble to take up the discernment in preparation for the choice of the 8 regional councillors.

From this Chapter the number of regional councillors increase by one because the assembly had approved the division of the Asia-Australia region into two parts. South Asia (India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka), which in fact consists of a separate region and the rest of the nations of Asia, Australia and the Pacific where the Salesians work and will have a special councillor.

Yesterday the Chapter had concluded the first phase of voting, from whom was elected Fr. Chavez Pascual as Rector Major; Fr. Luc Van Looy, Vicar and Councillor for the Salesian Family; Fr. Francesco Cereda, Councillor for Formation; Fr. Antonio Domenech Councillor for Youth Pastoral; Fr. Tarcisio Scaramussa, Councillor for Social Communication; Fr. Francis Alencherry Councillor for Missions and Fr. Giovanni Mazzali, Economer General.