Europassion General Assembly in Horice na Sumave (CZ) 8th-11th June 2023

The 2023 Europassion General Assembly was held in Horice na Sumave (CZ) from 8th to 11th June 2023, and brought together 38 groups from all over Europe.

The meeting opened with a visit to the beautiful town of ²eský Krumlov. While they marbled at the famous medival castle and explored the city with guided tours during the day, in the evening the participants enjoyed a specially organised concert of Bohemian music at the Monastery of the Friars Minorites. The concert was conducted by Jaroslav Kr¹ek, composer of the soundtrack of the Horice Passion.
On Saturday the delegates gathered in the House of Culture in Hořice na Šumavě where they attended a lecture by Dr. Ludmila Muchová entitled "Attracting Transcendence" and the historical presentation "Passion Plays in Hořice" by Profs. Jan Palkovi¹ and Martin Neudörfl.
The General Secretary Josef Lang, along with the members of the Europassion Board briefly illustrated the activities, performances and news of the association since the last meeting in March 2022, together with the financial report. Franz Miehl, director of the electoral committee, subsequently presented the results of the elections which took place via email between April and May.

The new board is therefore comprised of:

Thomas Hummel, from the passion of Salmuenster DE is the new Secretary General;
Herman Josef Christen from Schönberg BE was confirmed as Secretary,
Lex Houba from Tegelen NL was confirmed as Treasurer;
Andrea Schiffo from Ciconicco IT was appointed to Public Relations while
Paolo Arienta from Romagnano Sesia IT and
Andreas Krenn from Feldkirchen bei Graz AT were included in the new board as co-opted members, respectively with functions of collaboration in the treasury and public relations.
Don Fulvio Dettoma from Sordevolo IT is confirmed chaplain of Europassion. He delivered a profound message of encouragement which all the groups have received with faith and hope.

The representatives of the groups for each nation were then confirmed as members of the board as follows:

Thomas Hummel (Salmuenster DE) for Germany,
Lex Houba (Tegelen NL) for Holland, Belgium and United Kingdom,
Wolfgang Miehl (St. Margarethen AT) for Austria, Czechia, Hungary and Romania,
Jordi Ros I Mas (Esparreguera Catalonia) for Spain,
Flavio Sialino (Europapassion for Italy IT) for Italy and Switzerland,
Andreja R. Megusar (Ventus Passionis SI) for Slovenia and Croatia.
New representatives for France and for Poland have been also appointed:
Lucas Montvignier-Monnet (Tullins FR) for France
Marcin Caban (Cyeszin PL) for Poland.

Among the main objectives of the new Board are the revision of the statute and the formal/bureaucratic regularization of the Europassion association, the involvement of young people, the cohesion between groups, the improvement of communication and image, the promotion of peace between peoples and the spread Christ's message "love one another" in the dimension of the European community of the Passions of Christ.

The handover from the previous management to the new board of Europassion was the warmest moment: Josef Lang former Secretary General (Auersmacher DE), Franz Miehl (St. Margarethen DE) former member of the Council and country representative for Austria, and André Pesleut former head of Public Relations ( Ligny BE) were greeted by the new General Secretary Hummel, and they were deeply thanked for having cultivated the community of European passions for 28 long years.
Their 28 year long effort to cultivate the community of European passions was acknowledged with the utmost gratitude by all of the new board members. To honor their relentless work across almost 3 decades they were awarded an honorary membership to Europassion and received a variety of farewell-gifts.

The meeting continued on the Saturday afternoon with greetings from the Mayor of Hořice and other local political and religious institutions, a visit to the Via Crucis and the Holy Sepulcher with the ruins of the chapel of Our Lady of Sorrows in the woods near Hořice, as well as the opening ceremony of the monument dedicated to the people who made the history of the Hořice Passion Play.

In the evening, the Archbishop P. Kro¹il and vicar P. Pícha celebrated the Holy Mass at the Passion Theater in open air, and the symbolic statue of Europassion was handed over to the Passion Group of Csíksomlyó (RO) where the Europassion Congress will take place in June 2024. The setting of the sun gave way to the Play of the Passion of Christ which -although wet by the rain- fascinated all the people for its splendid natural scenery immersed in the Bohemian forest, captivating those who had come from the rest of Europe to witness to the mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ staged by the people of Horice.