This Monday, May 1, 2023, in the morning, 87% of the delegates gathered at the International Congress in Togo said “yes” to a team of five co-presidents at the head of Fondacio: Cécile Villegas (France), Kathleen Deckmyn (Belgium), Jérôme Tozé (Benin), Ignacio Rosselot (Chile) and Benoît Vignon (France). This team will be part of the Council of Fondacio. The 100 delegates then worked, in the afternoon, on the composition of the future Council.
The co-presidency team had been presented to the delegates and guests of the international Congress of Fondacio on April 18th. This Monday, May 1 in the morning, 87% of the delegates elected this team. Cécile Villegas (on the right in the photo, in videoconference with her husband Jaime), Kathleen Deckmyn (left), Jérôme Tozé (third from the left, accompanied by his wife Elisabeth), Ignacio Rosselot (fourth from the left, accompanied by his wife Tami on the left on the screen) and Benoît Vignon (second) will succeed François Prouteau, president of Fondacio from 2013 to 2018 and from 2018 to 2023.
“The task is heavy, the challenges multiple”
“ It’s a big change in the way we do things, moving from a president to a co-copresidency team,” said Yvonne Altorfer, outgoing Council member and co-organizer of the Congress. “The task is heavy, the stakes multiple. We felt it was time to enter into greater co-responsibility. All delegates are now working to clarify roles and what is expected of this team.”
The five co-presidents will be part of the Fondacio Council, which can have up to 12 members. It is therefore not a new governance body, but a working team that assumes and shares the role and responsibilities of the president. The appointed president, within the meaning of the legal and canonical statutes of the term, is Benoît Vignon. The delegates and guests also worked, Monday afternoon, on the composition of the next Council.
“Co-Presidency Companions”
“I feel like a servant who has answered a call,” shares Kathleen Deckmyn. “A new culture for Fondacio is being born.” Jérôme Tozé adds: “It is a thanksgiving. We are called to promote an inclusive pastoral care to build globality, in the truth of what brings us together: the friendship of Jesus with our brothers and the world. We are all companions of the co-presidency .”
Cécile Villegas, connected remotely from France, abounds: “My dream for the next five years is to facilitate connections between continents. It also means having concrete tools to share our knowledge and duplicate our projects, taking into account the realities of each country. Thank you for being actors with us!” For Ignacio Rosselot, it’s “an invitation, a challenge, an issue, a job. I think we can do more. Let’s take advantage of all possible synergies and collaborations.”
Finally, Benoît Vignon spoke about his experience as a trained physiotherapist: “As a whole, Fondacio is a body called to be powerful and strong for the world. Its potential is enormous. But if we don’t take care of each part of the body, the whole will fail. This is what lives in me for this mandate: to put fluidity in our operation.
Thank you Mr President!
After two terms at the head of Fondacio, François Prouteau will hand over to this new team and its future Council at the end of the week. On Tuesday May 2, 2023, an special event was held to celebrate this milestone and look back on these ten years of commitment . François Prouteau paid tribute to his Council, these “beautiful teammates of the Lord in this adventure, from Tagaytay – in the Philippines, where the 5th Congress of Fondacio took place – to Lome. We made a great team that held on until the end with momentum and diversity. We marveled at each other for how beautiful we saw in each. There have been ups and downs, challenges and promises… The crew has finally come to the end. “
“I leave this responsibility with a thanksgiving. Thank you to the Council, to the Executive Team, to the community for their support. Thank you Anne: it was very important that you were there. You have always been unwavering support. I am happy with the Congress, with the co-presidency and the Council that is preparing. I am full of momentum, energy and gratitude.” “It’s a step”, testified Anne, wife of François Prouteau and committed in the long term. “A new page is opening for François. I see how alive Fondacio is. My way of loving Fondacio has been to be by your side.”
A Congress every five years
120 delegates and guests, coming from 20 countries around the world, have been meeting since Saturday April 29 in Togo, and until Friday May 5. They are participating in the 6th International Fondacio Congress, officially launched on Sunday, April 30. Fondacio organizes a Congress every five years to renew its governing bodies and vote on new orientations for the next term.
