Donatella Acerbi [Photo: sacinfo]
Donatella Acerbi is a member of the UAC community “Quinta Dimensione” (Fifth Dimension), which came into being in 1973 among students of a Roman high school, who were inspired by a Pallottine Father teaching religion at that school. Since decades Ms. Acerbi is involved in different tasks and projects of the Union in Italy and on the international level. In 1985 she helped to animate the national and international events for the celebration of 150 years of the Union in Rome; the same in 1995, on the occasion of the 200th birthday of St. Vincent Pallotti. She was a member of the so called “Commissione ’86”, which took up the stimuli of the jubilee year 1985 and worked out the formation manual of the Union “Called by Name”. She was the first General Secretary of the Union and involved in the drawing up of the General Statutes.
She has been a member of a previous General Coordination Council and, as well, of the National Coordination Council of Italy. During many international meetings (General Congresses and General Assemblies of the UAC, meetings of the General Coordination Council), she, the English teacher, took on translation works. Thus, she is optimally familiar with the younger history and the structures of the Union, and she is on cordial terms with many Union members throughout the world. Besides the two important languages for the international level of the Union – English and Italian – she speaks German as well.
For the first time, after the terms of Fr. Seamus Freeman and Fr. Derry Murphy, with Donatella Acerbi a woman and lay person has been elected as president of the General Coordination Council and therewith of the worldwide Union of Catholic Apostolate. Surely it is a good sign, that such an election was possible after only twelve years of ecclesiastical approval. But beyond that we can be glad about the rich experience and the involvement, the charisma and kindness of Donatella Acerbi, which downright predestine her for this task.
