Long live Our Lady of Aparecida!
It is the festive cry of jubilation and exuberant faith that we have heard over and over again during our visit to the immense Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida, in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, and which still resonates in our ears and in our hearts.
The Federation “Blessed Maria Celeste Crostarosa” of the Nuns of the Order of the Most Holy Redeemer, experienced the Intermediate Federal Assembly from 4 to 11 May last hosted by the Redemptorist Missionaries at the Seminary of St. Alphonsus, right next to this wonderful Sanctuary dedicated to the Mother of God and patroness of Brazil.
The Order of the Most Holy Redeemer, founded in Scala on May 13, 1731, by Blessed Maria Celeste Crostarosa with the help of St. Alphonsus M. De’ Liguori, has the charism of being in the Church and for the world “the living memory of Christ the Redeemer.” On April 25, 1725, the young novice Sr. Maria Celeste had the Revelation of the new Institute and later wrote the Rules inspired by Christ himself. This year we celebrated the Jubilee of Revelation and, after 300 years of this wonderful history of sanctity and fragility, we are grateful to the Lord because the Order is present in all continents. Even if we are a small flock, we continue hopefully our mission through the contemplative life with trust and courage because history is guided by God and we are in his loving hands. Currently in our Order we have three Federations: A Japanese one, an English-French one, and ours which is the largest, embracing the Monasteries of Europe, Africa, and Latin America.
We arrived in Aparecida to hold our Intermediate Assembly. Together with the Federal President Sister Imma Di Stefano, 26 nuns were present, coming from many Monasteries of the Federation. We also had the joy of the participation of two sisters belonging to the monastery of ancient observance of Formosa (Brazil). Their presence gives us hope for a positive step towards greater unity of the entire Order. The welcome of the Redemptorist brothers with the festive and sincere warmth of the Brazilian people, the maternal presence of the Mother of God Aparecida from the largest Marian Shrine in the world, have contributed to transforming this experience of fraternal communion into something unique and unforgettable.
The work was carried out with the extraordinary participation of the Superior General of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, Fr. Rogério Gomes, of the Assistant Father of our Federation, Fr. Piotr Chyla (Coordinator of the European Conference), and with the help of Fathers Patrice Nyanda (Togo) and Jefferson Nunes (Province of Brasilia) who served as translators.
The intense week of the Assembly was lived between conferences and group work, with interventions in presence and online conferences. The President, Sister Imma Di Stefano, introduced the work with the report on the Three-Year Period of the Federation, illustrating the steps taken and the challenges to be faced; the Superior General gave an interesting conference on the “Current Situation of Religious and Monastic Life” and a second speech on the “Challenges of Contemplative Life Today.” The Spiritual Assistant, Father Piotr Chyla, addressed the theme in his conference: “How the Superior should lead the Community today.” Sister Kasimira Kut, Federal Formator, spoke to us about the importance of initial and ongoing formation, according to our charism and the directives of the “Cor Orans” document. We had online interventions with Father Sabatino Majorano, C.Ss.R., professor of moral theology and expert in our spirituality, who spoke to us on the theme of cloister today, according to our charism; and with Mother Simona Brambilla, Prefect of the Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, who gave us a conference on the “Service of Authority” using evangelical icons and her vast personal experience.
The group work was interesting and enjoyable as we were confronted with the various realities that we as nuns live in our different countries, between Africa and Europe, passing through Latin America. The sharing, the stories, the experiences and the knowledge of each sister allowed, despite the difficulty of the language, that there was a global embrace without effort or diplomacy, but with the Holy Spirit who blows incessantly on us to strengthen the union and mutual charity as our Foundress, Blessed Maria Celeste Crostarosa , wants in the first Rule inspired by our Lord.
An unscheduled event during the Assembly allowed us to come together even more in one heart and one soul and feel strongly as a Church: the election of Cardinal Robert Prevost as Supreme Pontiff! We lived, with a five-hour time difference, all together glued to the big screen, the emotion of the happy news of Pope Leo XIV. An event within the event!
The icing on the cake was the Eucharistic Celebration in the Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida presided over by the Superior General Fr. Rogerio Gomes, where he introduced us to the great praying assembly, addressed us with words of hope, and where we Redemptorist nuns with our symbolic dark red habit were seated around the altar, like a crown of roses dedicated to the Holy Virgin. The visit to the Shrine, the museum, the dome and other annexed works was very interesting. We were struck by the grandeur of the Shrine which can hold up to 45,000 faithful, the beauty of its internal and external mosaics, but what impressed and touched us was the observation of the spontaneous and rich faith of the pilgrims. The Mother of God, in fact, intercedes with her Son and obtains all the graces that are requested of Her.
Returning to our Federal Assembly, we can be grateful to the Lord for the excellent progress of the work, for the positive results and the future prospects that have opened up for the Communities of our Order, especially those of Latin America. We have returned to our respective Monasteries fortified in faith, encouraged in hope, and strengthened in charity and unity. We hope that the fruits of this Assembly will be abundant and will enrich our journey. Our gratitude also goes to the Father General, the Assistant Father, the Federal President, Father Marlos Aurelio Da Silva, Provincial of the Redemptorists of Aparecida, to the Community that welcomed us, to the Fathers who were translators: with the commitment, dedication, and competence of each one, we have been able to experience how beautiful it is for brothers and sisters to live together!
For everything we thank God, our Redeemer, the Holy Mother of God, and our founders that they continue to bless us and watch over us.
Sister Anna Maria Ceneri, O.Ss.R.
