(ANS – Rome) – On the evening of July 13, 2026, the Sacred Heart Community held another gathering featuring the “Goodnight” reflection by the General Councillors. The main speaker was Fr. Silvio Roggia, General Councillor for Formation, who presented the 5th edition of the Ratio Fundamentalis Formationis, recently promulgated by the Rector Major and his Council. To introduce his reflection, Fr. Roggia chose a striking image: a suitcase, symbolizing “a long journey” — not only the one that led to the publication of the text, but above all the one that is now beginning, which he himself described as “a journey far longer than these last five years.”

A Shared Journey, Not the Product of a Single Mind

The Councillor recalled that the new Ratio did not arise from the work of “some brilliant mind,” but rather from an extensive consultation process and contributions developed over time, beginning with the guidelines of GC28. It was a journey that, he emphasized, even benefited from its delays.

Fr. Roggia explained how, in July 2023, the finish line seemed close, with draft number 22 nearly finalized. However, a series of factors led to an extension of the process — a delay that the Councillor described as “providential.”

To illustrate this idea, he drew a historical parallel: in 1426, in Florence, Filippo Brunelleschi found himself having to build the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore without being able to use traditional scaffolding because there was not enough available timber. From that difficulty came his ingenious solution: a self-supporting dome built with herringbone brickwork. In the same way, Fr. Roggia explained, the extended timeframe made it possible to incorporate the guidelines emerging from GC29 into the Ratio, distributing the text to the Councillors week by week — “a ratio a day keeps the doctor away,” he joked.

The Structure of the Text: Concentrated Energy in 150 Pages

Describing the volume — “very small, very light, just 1,100 grams” — Fr. Roggia encouraged people not to be discouraged by its apparent size. The beating heart of the document, he explained, lies in the first 150 pages: not an encyclopedia, but a distillation of 25 years of Church teaching, General Chapters, and reflections, including Pope Francis’ guidance to the 28th General Chapter on the preventive system as the guiding principle of formation.

Among the main new developments highlighted by the Councillor:

• The dimensions of formation have expanded from the four traditional areas (defined by the 2000 Ratio, inspired by the work of Pastores Dabo Vobis) to five: human and fraternal, spiritual, intellectual and cultural, educative and pastoral, and charismatic — the latter defined by Fr. Roggia as the one that “gives color to everything.”
• Chapter 6, dedicated to communication and the governance of formation, reverses the traditional approach: it does not begin at the global level and move down to the local level, but instead starts with the individual — “always the first formator” — and then moves upward through the local, provincial, regional, and global levels. A new element is the call for a regional formation plan: after considering the possibility of a single universal Ratio, the Council chose to ask each Region to adapt and contextualize it.
• Chapter 7 addresses the stages of Initial Formation, emphasizing vocational discernment from the pre-formation stage onward, in collaboration with youth ministry.
• An entirely new chapter (Chapter 8) is dedicated to specialization, a delicate phase during which many confreres dedicate years to study and which also represents one of the periods with the highest rates of departure. Fr. Roggia emphasized the need to prepare confreres in a timely manner to assume high-level charismatic responsibilities, so that the Congregation does not lose its specific expertise.
• One section, highlighted in yellow, presents the criteria and profiles of maturity for each phase. These are not intended as tools for “solving problems,” but rather as a mirror to define the entry and exit profiles for each stage of formation.

Thousands of Copies Already Requested

Regarding distribution, there had initially been discussion about whether to limit the guide to a digital version. Ultimately, the decision was made to encourage the printing of at least two copies per community: one for each formator, one for each member of the Provincial Council, and one for each young person in formation. The response has exceeded expectations: nearly 13,000 copies have already been requested worldwide.

In concluding his address, Fr. Roggia thanked the translators in particular — working in Spanish, English, French, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Korean, Czech, Flemish, and many other languages — for the immense work they carried out. He invited everyone to allow the first five chapters of the Ratio to “sink in,” like the rain evoked by the prophet Isaiah in the liturgy of the previous Sunday.