This Chapter took place in our bicentennial year in Amiens, France. The document gives expression to the Society's life and mission and orients our vision for the future. The theme of the Chapter was: "Our educational mission: a pathway to discover, a space to announce the love of the Heart of Jesus." Key aspects of the documents include the following calls: To an Education that Transforms, From Collaboration to Reciprocity, From Meeting to Dialogue of Cultures, and Spirituality.

Introduction

The General Chapter 2000 of the Society of the Sacred Heart took place at the beginning of the new millennium, in the year of Jubilee. This is a year in which the Church calls us to participate in God's gift of forgiveness, reconciliation and liberation from all that holds us captive, to give back to the poor what is rightfully theirs.

The convergence of the General Chapter, the Society's bicentennial celebration and this Jubilee Year offers a unique opportunity to profess again our commitment to participate in the action of God through our service of education, a pathway to discover, a space to announce the love of the Heart of Jesus.

In the Society's 200th year, the General Chapter is marked by new moments in the Society's history:

• For the first time our sisters from China, Moscow, Paraguay and Indonesia were present at a General Chapter. We also heard the founding story of Haiti, the Society's newest project. Listening to the reality of our mission with all these people, we opened our hearts to their joys and sufferings.
• For the first time our friends and collaborators joined us to share our life, to reflect on the mission. They challenged us to own our place in the Church, they expressed their renewed confidence in our spirituality and our service of education and they gave us energy and hope to go forward.
• For the first time we were able communicate with the majority of our sisters around the world by Internet. We lived the paradox of using new technological means for the benefit of the mission, while millions of men and women who live in war torn countries where survival is critical.

The experience of each of our sisters has shaped the work of the General Chapter. Through their eyes and their experiences we have welcomed into our hearts and into our deliberations the faces of peoples across the globe. We have had before us the faces of hope and promise, the young in their generosity, those who are restless for God, women and men who create and reverence life. We have seen the suffering of children without education; of young people searching for meaning, of those suffering from HIV/AIDS, of women abused and discriminated against, of refugees displaced by war, violence and poverty. These faces of people reveal the Heart of God.

Globalization has permeated much of our conversation and reflection. We are more than ever aware that it offers almost unlimited opportunities for many people, but for the majority it creates even greater marginalization, more devastating poverty. We are saddened to live on this divide, in a world in which political, economic and social systems exclude peoples, cultures, even entire continents. Africa's suffering and the experience of war throughout the continent continues to touch our hearts. We are challenged to join our African sisters in a corporate action, especially against those who are supporting these wars through the arms trade.