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 Fondacio Council. The 100 delegates then worked, in the afternoon, on the composition of the future Council.
The co-presidency team was presented to the delegates and guests of the Fondacio Congress on April 18. 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 (on the 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 stakes multiple"
" This is a big change in our way of doing things, moving from a president to a co-presidential team," said Yvonne Altorfer, outgoing Council member and co-organizer of the Congress. " The task is heavy, the stakes are multiple. We felt it was time to enter into greater co-responsibility. All the delegates are now working to clarify the 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 team at work that assumes and shares the role and responsibilities of the president. The appointed president, in the sense of the legal and canonical statutes of the term, is Benoît Vignon. The delegates and guests also worked on the composition of the next Council on Monday afternoon.
"Companions of the co-presidency"
“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 foster an inclusive pastoral ministry 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, agrees: "My dream for the next five years is to facilitate connections between continents. It is also to have 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 is "an invitation, a challenge, a stake, 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: "In its entirety, Fondacio is a body called to be powerful and strong for the world. Its potential is enormous. But if we do not take care of each part of the body, the whole will fail. This is what drives me for this term: to bring fluidity into our functioning."
Thank you Mr. President!
After two terms at the head of Fondacio, François Prouteau will hand over the reins to this new team and its future Board at the end of the week. On Tuesday, May 2, 2023, an evening was held to celebrate this milestone and look back on these ten years of commitment. François Prouteau paid tribute to his Board, these "beautiful teammates of the Lord in this adventure, from Tagaytay - in the Philippines, where the 5th Fondacio Congress took place - to Lomé. We made a great team that held on until the end in enthusiasm and diversity. We marveled at each other for all the beauty we saw in each other. There were ups and downs, trials and promises... The crew made it to the end."
"I leave this responsibility with thanksgiving. Thank you to the Council, the Executive Team, the community for this support. Thank you to my wife, Anne: it was very important that you were there. You have always been an unwavering support. I am happy with the Congress, this co-presidency and the Council that is being prepared. I am full of energy and gratitude." "This is a step," testified Anne, François Prouteau's wife and committed for the long term. "A new page is opening for François. I see how much Fondacio is alive. My way of loving Fondacio was to be at your side."
A Congress every five years
120 delegates and guests from 20 countries around the world have been meeting in Togo since Saturday, April 29, and until Friday, May 5. They are participating in the 6th Fondacio International Congress, officially launched on Sunday, April 30. Fondacio organizes a Congress every five years to renew its governing bodies and vote on new directions for the next term.
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