On 22 January 2026, a meeting organised by the Union of Major Superiors of the Ambrosian Diocese and the formators of the Diocesan Seminary of Milan was held in Venegono (VA), the seat of the Diocesan Seminary of the Archdiocese of Milan. The meeting was aimed at those who, in a formative capacity, work at various levels within religious congregations.

Educating for fraternity in intercultural contexts

This meeting, which has been held for several years now, aims not only to provide training, but also to share and exchange good educational practices, to discuss and to offer mutual assistance in the field of education. The report and subsequent review of the results of the sharing session was entrusted to Sister Joan Agnes Njambi Matinum, a member of the Congregation of the Consolata Missionaries, general counsellor and psychologist.

In her report, she highlighted how cultural identity is an essential component of every person’s identity. Understanding and respecting another person’s culture means affirming their identity and recognising their dignity.

However, this path requires study, experience, open and honest dialogue, reflection and time. There are several terms that are often used as synonyms when talking about interculturality. It is therefore essential to define them correctly in order to understand the profound dynamics of interculturality and to be able to actively participate in the processes that derive from it.

The concept of multiculturalism describes forms of social coexistence between different national and cultural groups. In this model, groups respect each other but do not engage in a true process of interaction or mutual exchange: each group maintains its own boundaries and customs derived from the culture to which it belongs.

The transcultural experience, on the other hand, represents a blurring of the boundaries between cultures, sometimes even the elimination of those boundaries. Here, different cultural experiences intertwine and merge, giving rise to “hybrid” experiences and new forms of common expression.

Interculturality, on the other hand, concerns the encounter and exchange between cultures while preserving one’s own cultural identity. It perceives and values diversity; it recognises the fundamental equality between people and, as a result, is committed to overcoming all forms of inhumanity, stereotypes and prejudices. It goes beyond the external boundaries of cultures, paying particular attention to the different nuances and cultural formations that exist within each individual culture. What does all this tell us sisters of charity, now involved in formation in this dimension?

First of all, it reminds us that it is not a spontaneous or natural process: it requires intentionality and a deep spiritual life on the part of both formators and those who embark on the path of consecration. The path to which we are called has almost the meaning of a “conversion” of way of thinking and intention, which is based on three fundamental guidelines that support it:

• the will to build the “common home” together: this means not managing an institution but forming a family (think of our Thouret Family) within which we feel welcomed in our uniqueness and part of a whole in order to build the integrated “We” according to Jesus’ dream: that they may be one.
• Every difference should not be an obstacle but a resource: for this reason, it is necessary to create spaces of complementarity within which each culture must not give in to the temptation to change the other but rather to promote mutual enrichment.
• Every brother and sister must be looked at through the eyes of God. This requires a change in the way we think, moving from sympathy to cultural empathy, thus arriving at a dialogue that is capable of profoundly transforming each interlocutor.

How, then, can we accompany our increasingly multicultural

formative communities on a journey that is truly intercultural?

We know that in consecrated life, formation is a continuous process of growth and transformation through which the person is helped to internalise the charism, spirituality and mission of their religious family. The choice to live interculturality has the aim of making every consecrated disciple more authentic, more effective in evangelisation, and increasingly attentive and capable of understanding the needs of their brothers and sisters.

Our communities must increasingly become places where God’s love and His faithful presence among His people are witnessed. Intercultural formation communities are sources of life and communion when each member is able to welcome the other as a travelling companion. This gift requires reciprocity: it must be welcomed through active listening, free from prejudice, openness, appreciation and respect. Growing together also implies moving from a logic of exclusion to one of integration: this is a gradual process because every change always requires a new beginning.

Certainly, intercultural living is not easy: it is necessary to create awareness, conviction of the beauty and effectiveness of the path undertaken, and care for it with love and attention. We could almost rewrite St Paul’s message in his letter to the Galatians (Gal 3:28) by saying: ‘There are no longer formators or those in formation who come from different parts of the world: we are all one in Christ Jesus.’ We are brothers and sisters not because we lose our identity but because we demonstrate that living together is possible, precisely through the gift and reciprocity of our different cultures.