On Friday, June 12, 2026, the Companions of the Ecumenical Order of Charity gathered for the installation of the New Servant Guardian of the order, Bro. Charles of the Cross, OC. After the brief service in which he affirmed his commitment to uphold The Founding Document, and other aspects of the life and work of the Ecumenical Order of Charity, and was installed as the New Servant Guardian by the retiring Servant Guardian, Bro. Aidan Daniel, OC, he offered this address, beginning with the companions in Brazil.
Address to the Companions in Brazil
Queridos irmãos, membros e amigos da Ordem Ecumênica da Caridade,
Há dez anos, cheguei aqui com medo e dúvidas. Hoje, ao assumir o serviço de Guardião Servo, sigo com humildade e gratidão, confiando na fidelidade de Deus e no caminho que compartilhamos juntos.
Agradeço aos que sustentaram esta comunidade ao longo dos anos, especialmente ao Irmão Guadalupe e ao Irmão Aidan, por sua dedicação e serviço fiel. Também recordamos com carinho aqueles que já partiram, em especial o Irmão Silvano, cuja memória permanece viva entre nós.
Creio que o Espírito continua nos chamando à compaixão, à comunhão e ao amor. Esta Ordem existe não por títulos ou regras, mas pelo amor de Deus revelado em nossa vida comum.
Peço suas orações, paciência e companhia nos anos que virão. Que continuemos caminhando juntos, testemunhando misericórdia, esperança e amor.
Sou profundamente grato por cada um de vocês.
Que o Espírito nos conduza sempre mais profundamente no amor.
Address to the Companions Gathered at General Assembly
Beloved brothers, companions on the journey, members and friends of the Ecumenical Order of Charity,
Ten years ago, I stood among you afraid and uncertain. I could not have imagined the road that lay before me, nor the ways in which God, through this community, would continue to shape and transform my life. I knew only that I had heard a call, faint and trembling, and that somehow, despite my fear, the Spirit was asking me to take one more step into the mystery.
Today, as I am affirmed as Servant Guardian of this Order, I stand before you with many of those same feelings still alive within me: awe, humility, gratitude, excitement, and yes, fear. Yet now they are tempered by the knowledge that God has been faithful through every season, through every uncertainty, through every joy and every wound. I know now what I did not fully understand then: that none of us walks this path alone.
I give thanks for those who have carried this community through difficult years and through holy years alike. I give thanks especially for Brother Guadalupe, who gathered together so many loose and fragile threads after the great malaise, helping to preserve and nurture this Order when it might easily have faded into memory. His labor, patience, and faithfulness helped make possible the community we stand within today.
I give thanks also for Brother Aidan, who has borne the great weight of servant guardianship for these past eight years. Few truly know the sacrifices, burdens, prayers, and hidden struggles carried in such ministry. Brother, your devotion, endurance, and love for this Order have left an enduring mark upon us all.
I give thanks for those who came before us and helped shape this sacred path. I give thanks for those who remain among us still, continuing the work day by day. I give thanks for those who are absent yet remain bound to us in spirit and memory, and for those present here whose lives continue to witness to the love of God in this community.
And today we remember especially those who have died, whose prayers and lives continue to echo among us. In particular, we remember Brother Silvano, of happy memory, whose witness remains part of the living heart of this Order. May all those who have gone before us continue to rest in the peace and radiance of Divine Love.
As we stand together now, I believe the Spirit, the Great Dancer — continues to move among us still. The dance has not ended. The invitation has not ceased. Again and again, the Holy One calls us into movement, into transformation, into communion with one another and with the suffering and beauty of the world.
This Order is not held together merely by constitutions or customs or titles. We are held together by the love of God revealed through one another. Through shared prayer, shared wounds, shared joys, shared failures, and shared hope, we are slowly being formed into a people who bear witness to compassion, mercy, reconciliation, and radical love.
I do not accept this responsibility because I believe myself fully prepared or worthy. I accept it because I trust the same Spirit who has carried this community for generations continues to guide us still. I accept it because I believe God is not finished with us yet.
And so I ask your prayers, your patience, your wisdom, and your companionship in the years ahead. Let us continue listening together for the rhythm of the Great Dancer. Let us continue becoming a people of charity, tenderness, courage, and holy hospitality. Let us continue witnessing to the great love of God as we come to know it in one another and through one another.
For this calling, for this trust, and for each of you, I am profoundly grateful.
May the Spirit continue to move us ever deeper into love.