The pandemic forced the postponement of the provincial chapter also in India, which should have been celebrated in October 2021. The right time, with the permission to travel according to the provisions of the Indian and Italian state, was the month of March; as soon as news of the openings of the States was received, the VI Chapter of the “Holy Family in India” Province was scheduled from 6 to 13 March.
The Superior General Sr Paola Dotto, accompanied by the councilors Sr Tiziana Tonini and Sr Rose Thomas Palamthattel and by Sr Maddalena Moro and Sr Mini Alex, delegates to the chapter, arrived in India three days before the celebration.
On 6th March 2022 at 3.pm we had the official opening of the VI Provincial chapter of the Holy Family Province India. All the Chapter delegates along with Sr.Paola Dotto, our Superior General and President of the chapter, Sr. Tiziana Tonini, the Vicar General and Sr. Rose Thomas, the General Councilor entered in the chapel.
A beautiful introduction of the prayer was held in the chapel. Then the Superior General called the chapter delegates by name from the last to the first in the list of the delegates and each one came forward and received the lighted oil lamp from her hand and proceeded in procession followed by Sr. Rose Thomas carrying the incense, Sr. Tiziana Tonini carrying the Bible and Sr. Paola Dotto with the Congregational candle amidst the melodious singing of “Vieni Creator” . When the procession reached the chapter hall, all placed their own little lamps to a “tree stand” specially prepared for the occasion and all delegates took their respective places where each one found an illumined lamp indicating their seats. The Bible and the lamp placed in the respective places resemble the presence of the living Christ amidst us. Sr. Paola garlanded the Bible as a sign of reverence and love.
The prayer continued with a beautiful symbolic representation of water and cleansing. Water is a symbol of life, because it nourishes all living things. It is also a symbol of birth as it reminds us of the fluids that accompany the birth. It is used as a symbolic cleansing in a variety of settings. A jug of water, which was brought from different parts of India wherever, the Province is on its mission. The superior of each community or a representative of each place made a prayer articulating the cries of the time, of the province, of the Church and of the whole world. The ritual washing of hand was in the traditional Jewish practice; to wash our hands by taking a cup of water in one hand and poring it over the other hand. Ritually anointing of our hand is a symbol of the renewal of creation as well as a spiritual cleansing in preparation for the work of our new chapter. The prayer service continued with each other holding hands and singing the prayer, ‘Padre Nostro’. All raised the lamps in the same level symbolically affirming and entrusting all the acts of the chapter in the days followed. The meaningful celebration of the prayer service made us really feel the presence of the Divine Spirit and put us in the mood of the chapter.
The next was an introductory welcome by the Provincial Superior, where she referred all the important aspects of the chapter and gave a warm welcome to each and every delegate to this fraternal moment. In a special way, she welcomed our dear Superior general Sr. Paola Dotto, Sr. Tiziana Tonini and Sr. Rose Thomas for their presence and encouragement. Then Sr. Paola made the official opening of the VI Provincial chapter of the Holy family Province. Her remarks were very much enriching and encouraging and at the same time expressing her preoccupation about the present world situation of war and suffering. She invited the delegates to live "this moment by offering our life as women and consecrated women" heart to heart "with Jesus and the oppressed populations in every part of the world."
She appreciated and offered reflections on the theme of the chapter: FMSC chosen to be evangelically fruitful women
"In Jesus, our fruitfulness arises from the ability to love, suffer and die every day for the man / woman who journeys with us in our community, in our mission. For us FMSC, the pierced Heart of Jesus Crucified (chapter 5 DCG 2017) is the Center of our contemplation of Love.
It is a true, strong, conscious reality: Jesus has overcome the darkness of evil, and with his light, even today, if we allow it, He illuminates our eyes, our face, our heart.
In this reconciled and renewed fidelity, we can be fruitful in the relationship with the Lord and with our brothers and sisters, all the more precious when more different, because “diversity” is a wonderful "gift" from the Father who generates and gives us the beauty of the diversity of His Face”.
With these and other reflections, Sr Paola declared the VI Chapter of the "Holy Family" province open.
The days of the Chapter then continued with the commitments regularly requested.
Each day was accompanied by a specific theme, which was the subject of the father's homily who celebrated Holy Mass and moments of prayer in the chapter hall.
The elections of the new Council took place on 10 March, constituted for the new three-year period by:
Sr. Mini Joseph Varikakuzhiyil Provincial Superior
Sr Suni Chaco Mannakulathil 1st councilor and vicar
Sr Gracy Thuruthipallil 2nd councilor
Sr. Selinamma Mookenthottathil 3rd councilor
Sr. Nirmala Buradagunta 4th councilor
The chapter work continued with the active participation of all the capitulars. Sr. Paola Dotto helped in the various reflections by encouraging and offering points for reflection and evaluation. The atmosphere of the chapter showed joy, enthusiasm, a desire to grow in the "ways" that the Lord shows us attentive to the signs of "His calls" and faithful to our identity.
On March 13, the closing Eucharistic celebration was celebrated in the morning by Father K. Karunakar OFM cap. , provincial superior of the Capuchin friars minor.
Before the closing of the chapter, the bishop Rev. Thelegathoti Joseph Raja Rao also came to give his message and his blessing to the new Council and to all the sisters.
On the afternoon of March 13 in the chapter room, the superior general Sr. Paola Dotto declared the VI Chapter of the "Holy Family" Province closed, encouraging all the sisters to continue the journey they had undertaken:
“Go into all the world... evangelize” this is our Gospel, this is what the Church expects of us, this is what the Lord expects who provides for us and provides for his people through us. We are called to sacrifice ourselves for His people! It will be the Lord, with his Providence, who will reward the gift of our life for Him and for our brothers and sisters”.
The Lord and his Providence will not miss anything, indeed He will give the hundredfold "as long as we do not precede the steps of the Lord" as our Founder, the venerable Fr. Gregory.
Sr Paola concluded: "May the Spirit of the Lord be your guide, your strength in every situation, together with Mary our Mother and the humble and courageous Joseph.
May our Founders, Father Gregory Fioravanti and Laura Leroux, accompany us and intercede for us, for this wonderful reality, together with our sisters who from Heaven watch and protect us ”.
Like the Apostles and the first Christians, we too can say with full conviction: "For we ourselves cannot cease to proclaim what we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). Just as the Apostles saw, heard and touched the saving power of Jesus (cf. 1 Jn 1:1-4), we too can daily touch the sorrowful and glorious flesh of Christ.
Ngbala is an outlying station of the Sacred Heart parish, located 85 km from Sembe, in the diocese of Ouesso, in the Republic of Congo. It has about three thousand inhabitants, most of whom are Christians. Of the Christians, sixty percent are Catholic. This beautiful mission was closed for fifteen years because of the insufficient number of priests in the diocese of Ouesso
Three years ago, a fervent Catholic arrived in Ngbala, he is called Mr. DIANTOUILA Corentin, the Divisional Officer appointed there. After spending two years without the opportunity to practise his Catholic faith, he made his investigations and discovered that there was a Catholic church covered by bush and trees whose branches carefully covered the roof of the abandoned church building as if to protect it from any form of destruction.
Mr. DIANTOUILA mobilized and paid a group of men to clear the surroundings of the Church. His wife and her team carefully decorated the house of God to give it the beauty and order it deserves. While all the renovations were taking place, Mr Corentin insistently appealed to the parish priest of the Parish of the Sacred Heart of Sembe for a priest to visit them periodically. His request was heard by the parish priest who, decided to make a place above. We too, the sisters of the Sembe mission, decided to accompany him using the ambulance of our hospital, which is a car strong enough to face such a road.
On our arrival in Ngbala on 11 December 2021, we were warmly welcomed by Mr. DIANTOUILA Corentin in his office. In his words of welcome he told us "that our arrival is like a light that has finally shown the end of a dark tunnel, a dark era. In this village we are covered in darkness, our families are suffering, divided and dying of despair, some are at the mercy of false shepherds who exploit them financially etc. Your arrival has brought us hope. Your arrival has brought us hope. It was a very powerful experience of attentive listening, reflection and prayer.
From the office of DIANTOUILA Corentin we went directly to the church, some Christians who saw us rushed to greet us with joy, they showed us much gratitude and their hope to now have the church open and at least one priest who would go from time to time to pray with them and listen to them. They were eager to tell us the story of their mission and how they suffered when it was closed. Their request was one: that our arrival among them mark a new beginning. We left Ngbala carrying them in our hearts and with the desire to return the following Sunday to celebrate the Holy Eucharist.
We left for Ngbala on Sunday morning with two choir members, two altar boys and a member of the lectors' group. Twenty-three (23) kilometres from Ngbala, we took the catechist of this mission who knew of our arrival and decided to wait in front of his house. In the past, before this mission was closed, this catechist had travelled these 23 km with enthusiasm to serve the church. This man was so happy that he animated our company with songs and stories until we reached Ngbala.
After a two-hour drive, we arrived at the Catholic mission in Ngbala and found a pleasant surprise. A choir of Christians filled the church waiting for the Eucharistic celebration, which was presided over by the parish priest Father Job, who had spent the night in Ngbala to listen to them.
During his homily, the priest reassured the faithful of God's infallible and unconditional love for them and of his permanent presence in their lives, in their hearts. He told them that God has never forgotten you, even if the priest was absent, and urged them to always trust and pray to God. He promised them that by the grace of our faithful God, he would make a programme to visit them at least once a month. This declaration and promise was greeted by joyful and thunderous applause from the faithful.
At the end of the celebration, the village chief thanked God for bringing back the missionaries with the intervention of Mr. DIANTOUILA Corentin. He also thanked immensely the parish priest and all the delegation from Sembe. He reiterated his appeal for the continuity and stability of the Church's missionary activities in their village.
This experience has brought us much joy and we want this missionary activity to continue to grow, so that Jesus will be known by all. Our hope is that the Lord will continue to call and send missionaries of the Gospel into his vineyard, so that places like Ngbala will also have the possibility of having a permanent religious presence.
Six sisters from the different religious congregations of the island were invited by the Franciscan Fathers, in the Nunciature in Nicosia, in view of the arrival of the Holy Father Francis in Cyprus, with his entourage. Of course, in addition to the preparations and work to be done, given that time was running out, there was also the intense emotion that took over. And we, too, Sister Elsapaola Pudussery and Sister Aurora Castardo, had to get busy. Just think, having Pope Francis a guest at home! That honor! And it doesn’thappen every day to serve the Pope!
The Pontiff arrived in Cyprus on 2 December 2021 at the Larnaca airport and with him all the escort: the police, the guards, all his followers, collaborators and managers. Present are the Apostolic Nuncio of Jerusalem Adolfo Tito Yllana, Monsignor George Panamthundil, His Beatitude Pierbattista Pizzaballa Patriarch of Jerusalem, Mons. Selim Sfeir Maronite Archbishop of Cyprus, the Custos of the Holy Land Francis Patton. A beautiful image of the Mother Church of Cyprus, so important for the history of salvation. Upon his arrival in the Nunciature, right at the entrance, Pope Francis sees the barbed wire of separation in the last divided capital of Europe. A barbed wire that does not break ecumenical relations in this Church that integrates different peoples, cultures and traditions. A barbed wire that will not hinder the Pontiff from looking at the faces of migrants and refugees with his ecclesial sensitivity.
With immense joy we welcomed and greeted Pope Francis, kissing his hand and extending the warm welcome also from all the FMSC sisters who accompany us spiritually. We truly felt privileged to represent our Province, as well as our Religious Family! With so much Franciscan simplicity we lived moments of communion alongside the Pope, short but intense moments full of meaning.
Inside the Nunciature, where we served, we carried out simplest work that all mothers do at home: serving at the table, taking care of the Pope’s room, washing, ironing, arranging the environment. And we did all this with a lot of love and devotion. In Pope Francis room, we have prepared a small tabernacle with the Blessed Sacrament. His day begins at 04:00 in the morning with two hours of Eucharistic adoration. And we knew that the Pope was there, in his room, in front of Jesus in the Eucharist.
His life, nourished by adoration and contemplation, was an opportunity for us to ask ourselves about the quality of our prayer life, about the evangelical witness we give to those who approach us. The Pope is right when he says, "without adoration and proclamation we are museum Christians". Furthermore, its simplicity, sobriety and confidentiality which cannot remain unnoticed. I, Sister Elsapaola Pudussery, who was in charge of arranging his room, in the morning, I found myself in front of a well-ordered and already made bed and everything was in its place. Moreover, everything reflected the simple style of an even simpler and more discreet person.
At home, in Nunciatura, we often found ourselves in the kitchen helping the two cooks with table service. On December 3, 2021, after the Ecumenical Prayer with migrants, on his return, Pope Francis entered the kitchen with his usual immediate greeting: good evening, how are you? how is work going? Are these two cooks good? Moreover, not only that... we were amazed and speechless when, with such simplicity, he asked for a piece of bread because he was a little hungry. Just a piece of bread. Just like at home!
We worked hard, but we were very happy to have been able to give our service and contribution so that the Pope would feel at home. And with him all the people who accompanied him. There was no shortage of his laughter and jokes, especially when he saw us a little hesitant to approach him to take a picture. The atmosphere in the Nunciature was very serene and quiet and this, thanks to the familiarity and friendliness that Pope Francis knows how to create wherever he is. Because this is his lifestyle!
On 4 December 2021, before his departure from the Nunciature, at 06:00 in the morning, the Pope celebrated Holy Mass in the Church of Santa Croce. A private Mass in which we sisters were also able to participate. We also lived this last moment around the Altar in prayer, breaking the Bread of Life. We offered all our gratitude and gratitude for the days spent net to the Pope. The final greetings before the farewell, his smile, his gaze, his presence, his last words and that barbed wire of separation. However, Francis encourages us: to go forward always and with courage! The Lord precedes us!
Thus, our service became an encounter, a story. We have personally experienced the simple and synodal style that characterizes the life of the Pope, the life of every day, life together with the most ordinary people. His sobriety of life is what we also see in public. The maxim is only une: love!
We wish to thank the Lord and our Provincial Superior, Sister Antonia Piripitsi, for choosing us for this service and for all the wonders, we experienced alongside the Pope. For us it has become a “gift”opportunity, which in turn we want to share and give back to the brothers and sisters.
With fraternal affection:
Sister Elsapaola Pudussery and Sister Aurora Castardo
Today's theme: Some young people, young people who remain faithful to Jesus, the one Lord, and faithful to his Church, who are signs of the culture of life present in Latin America, in Bolivia, in Santa Cruz de la Sierra.
Young people who with their testimony of life cry out: "BEATS, HEART... NOT ALL THE EARTH HAS SWALLOWED IT”, remembering the great forgotten Spanish poet, Antonio Machado. YOUNG PEOPLE STILL SHOUTING: THE HEART BEATS THE CULTURE OF LIFE IS STRONGER.
Youth life, present in this portion of the Church, is part of the ARCHDIOCESAN YOUTH VOCATIONAL MINISTRY, the body that embraces the entire Archdiocese of Santa Cruz, led by a group formed by the auxiliary bishop, Monsignor Stanisław Dowlaszewicz Billman, Order of Friars Minor Conventual, Poland, Sister Gladys Chávez Pillancari, religious assistant belonging to the Congregation of the Franciscan Missionaries of the Sacred Heart, Chile, both with many years of presence in Santa Cruz, and the coordinators of the vicars who make up the Archdiocese. The periodic meetings of the group make it possible to know, plan and accompany the path of youth ministry at the archdiocesan level. The coordinators are about 30 people, eloquent figures of the presence of young people in the Church. They are responsible for animating and supporting the life of faith of the youth groups of the different parishes, led by an archdiocesan coordinator who works together with the team. Monsignor Stanislaus also accompanies the vocational youth ministry at national level. All the work is organised and enriched by national, archdiocesan and jurisdictional meetings of the Archdiocese of Santa Cruz.
Most of the young people who are part of this great movement are university students or young people who work, young people who take responsibility, with perseverance and commitment. Dynamism and creativity are their identity. They are always up to date on all the events of the Church of Santa Cruz; they are committed, always seeking the Lord in prayer, which nourishes and illuminates their lives and is projected into fraternal meetings, generous service and exchange. This is how they make their way, walking the sometimes dusty streets of the Santa Cruz department.
One of the main events that leaves deep traces among young people is the so-called "Youth Easter". It takes place every year on 1 May, which is a public holiday, allowing everyone to be present. Around 3000-4000 young people participate, together with priests and religious councillors, coordinators and the Bishop. As these are mass meetings, they have been suspended for the last two years because of the pandemic.
This active youth vocations ministry also carries out its mission through various Church programmes, including prayer and sacramental life, the organisation of the Pope's visit, missionary congresses, archdiocesan assemblies, national meetings, and solidarity actions planned by them or by lay adults. In the various organisations, young people always offer their support for any activity that is in the interest of the community.
A great sign of life is the preparation for World Youth Day WYD, together with Monsignor Stanislaus, which involves a large number of them, becoming a school of great human and Christian values, through formation meetings every 15 days, deepening the documents of the Church, especially those of Pope Francis, who today as yesterday challenges young people: ... Therefore, today, once again, God is saying to each one of you: "Get up!". I hope from the bottom of my heart that this message will help us to prepare for new times, for a new page in the history of humanity. "But, dear young people, it is not possible to begin again without you. To get back on its feet, the world needs the strength, the enthusiasm and the passion that you have. In this sense, I would like us to meditate together on the passage in the Acts of the Apostles in which Jesus says to Paul: "Get up! I bear witness to what you have seen" (cf. Acts 26:16) (Message of the Holy Father Francis for the XXXVI World Youth Day.
The annual programming of the archdiocesan vocational youth ministry begins with two events: a retreat for the coordinators of the vicariates, to reflect on the theme of synodality; a national meeting where they will meet the new national councillor, Monsignor Nicolas Renán Aguilera, bishop of the diocese of Potosí.
This entire youth movement is a luminous presence of the culture of life that radiates hope, new life that flows through the veins not only with the energy of the years of youth, but which flows from the inexhaustible source of God's merciful love, realised in his Son Jesus Christ, the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE, proclaimed and celebrated by the Church that walks in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia.
