Upon the completion of his term as General Councilor, the Centro Studi of the Generalate had asked John van den Hengel if he might be willing to work with them for a period of time. I had said that I wanted some time off and that I would be in Rome in the beginning of January, 2016. We could then have a further discussion. With John’s election as the Regional Superior this idea of a prolonged stay in Rome was no longer possible. However, a collaboration on short term basis can be combined with the office of Regional Superior.

During my stay in Rome for the completion of the Spiritual Path I was asked whether I might dip into my knowledge of the hermeneutical method and give the two students who have received a bursary from the Centro Studi a brief taste of its possibilities. On Saturday May 16 John gave an hour and a half session to the bursary students and any other student who was interested. The session was well received and it was decided that when I am in Rome for whatever reason I would hold similar sessions. The main concern for the Centro Studi is the ability to read and interpret Fr. Dehon and his spirituality for this time. The General Administration instituted the bursaries because of the concern that a number of the great interpreters of Dehon, such as André Perroux and Raphael Gonçalvez da Costa are older now and that the spirituality of Dehon needs to find interpreters in non European countries.