On 9 November 293 years ago, the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer was founded. On this occasion, Fr Rogério Gomes CSSR, Superior General, writes a letter to the entire Redemptorist Family.
As we celebrate the 293rd anniversary of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, we give thanks for our history and look with hope to the future. This celebration coincides with the Jubilees of Hope and of St. Gerard Majella’s birth, the Year of Mission, and the beginning of Pope Leo XIV’s pontificate, which calls us to renew our dedication to the poor and to “cross to the other shore” (Mk 4:35) with courage and faithfulness to our charism.
We live amid wars, intolerance, and many forms of poverty—material, moral, and spiritual. In this context, the exhortation Dilexi te reminds us of our vocation to follow Christ the Redeemer in preaching the Gospel to the poor (Const. 1). We are urged to rediscover ourselves in this mission and rekindle “the gift of God that is in us” (2 Tim 1:6), embracing missionary conversion and renewal of faith.
Guided by the Gospel, our Founder, our Constitutions, and the Holy Spirit—the true Helmsman—we navigate toward renewal and creative fidelity. Pessimism paralyzes; self-criticism strengthens and unites us as we strive to bring the Congregation safely to the other shore. Let us walk without fear, keeping our eyes fixed on Christ (Heb 12:2). May Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help, and all our Saints and Martyrs obtain for us the courage to be true Missionaries of Hope in the footsteps of the Redeemer.
Do read the complete letter below…
Rome, 9th November, 2025
Missionaries of Hope in the Footsteps of the Redeemer
YEAR DEDICATED TO MISSION
The Lord who sends us as Missionaries and Pilgrims of Hope in a Wounded World
Lk 4:16-19, Mk 6:7-12, Lk 9:2-6, Ps 130:7 Const. 1-20, Stat. 01-020
Dear confreres, Bishops, Formandi and Redemptorist Family,
- On this day when we celebrate the 293rd anniversary of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, we are invited to look with gratitude upon our history and, at the same time, with hope towards the challenges of the present. This feast shines through a variety of signs of the times: the Jubilees of Hope and of the birth of St. Gerard Majella, milestones of God’s action in the Redemptorist journey and in the life of the people. We also celebrate the Year dedicated to Mission, a favourable occasion to rekindle the evangelizing zeal that defines us. We are still at the beginning of the pontificate of Leo XIV, whose Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi te inspires us to renew our dedication to the Gospel and so care for the poor. In the same spirit, we welcome the call of Communicanda 2/2025: “Let us cross to the other shore” (Mk 4:35), which challenges us to leave behind our securities and to embrace courageously the new frontiers of mission. This dynamism is strengthened by the mid-sexennial meetings of the Congregation, spaces of synodality, discernment, and evaluation, together with the contributions of the various Conferences toward the implementation of the decisions of the XXVI General Chapter, reaffirming our commitment to a creative fidelity to the charism of St. Alphonsus.
- We do not live apart from the world. We are deeply affected by the social, political, and spiritual transformations of our time: wars, intolerance, crises of democracy, and the growth of “many forms of poverty: the poverty of those who lack material means of subsistence, the poverty of those who are socially marginalized and lack the means to give voice to their dignity and abilities, moral and spiritual poverty, cultural poverty, the poverty of those who find themselves in a condition of personal or social weakness or fragility, the poverty of those who have no rights, no space, no freedom” (Dilexi te, 9).
- In this context, the reading of Dilexi te becomes even more relevant, for it strongly echoes the Redemptorist principle expressed in Constitution 1: “To follow the example of Jesus Christ the Saviour in preaching the Word of God to the poor.” This preferential option lies at the very heart of our missionary vocation. As we read the text, a challenging question emerges: where do we recognize ourselves as Redemptorist missionaries in this Apostolic Exhortation, we who are called to evangelize the poorest and abandoned? Or rather, why do we not see ourselves or find ourselves reflected within it?
- I believe that everything we are experiencing as a society, as a Church, and as a Congregation challenges us with a fundamental question, one that concerns every confrere and also the laity who walk with us: To cross to the other shore (cf. Mk 4:35) and to “rekindle the gift of God that is in you” (2 Tim 1:6). It is a call to missionary conversion, to the abandonment of human securities, and to the renewal of faith and evangelizing zeal, in the firm conviction that the Holy Spirit guides and sustains us amid the challenges of our time.
- We must not be afraid of our time; rather, we must learn to discern it. The present context invites us to leave behind rigid structures, routines that no longer evangelize, and attitudes of closure, in order to embrace with courage, the challenges of mission, especially alongside the poor and the excluded, who are at the heart of the Redemptorist charism. However, this missionary movement can only be sustained when it is rooted in a living experience of God. For this reason, “rekindling the gift” means reigniting the inner fire of vocation, recalling the origin of the call, renewing our passion for the Gospel, and allowing the Holy Spirit to awaken once more apostolic zeal and creativity (cf. Jer 1:5; Eph 4:1; Rom 1:16; Rom 12:11; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor 12:4–7; Rev 2:4–5). It is not enough to cross to the other shore in a merely physical or structural sense if the Redeemer is not in our boat; we must also make that interior passage, within the soul and the heart, so that the mission may be an authentic expression of the gift we have received and are called to share with the world.
- In the face of challenges, we may be tempted to cross to the other shore merely to avoid them, to withdraw from commitment and become indifferent. Remaining on the margins entails serious dangers: isolating oneself from the community, fleeing from responsibilities, criticizing without involvement or self-examination, distancing oneself from the missionary project of the Congregation, and pursuing only one’s own interests. This attitude also reveals itself in a lack of empathy and attentiveness, in apathy toward the suffering of others, in the refusal to engage in dialogue with the true interlocutors of the mission, and in the neglect of one’s own spiritual life. Therefore, the evil of remaining on the margins must be firmly resisted, lest it enter our missionary hearts.
- The Redeemer, in the face of our challenges, does not call us to abandon the boat or to remain in our comfort zones. He calms the winds and questions us: “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” (Mk 4:40). A lack of faith in God and also in consecrated life can lead us to despair and keep us on the surface: without depth, without horizon, without hope. From this comes the call to rekindle the gift that is within us: the gift of community life, of prayer, of the constant renewal of one’s vocation, of ongoing formation, of ardour and apostolic zeal. We cannot allow a crisis of faith to make the boat of the Congregation sink, whether because we have failed to cry out to the Redeemer, or because those who are in the boat no longer believe that it is leading us, in fidelity to our charism, toward a safe shore.
- Dear confreres, those in formation, and our lay partners: in the sea of this world, with its storms and calms, the Congregation continues to sail. It is not a voyage without direction, for it possesses a sure chart of navigation, composed of the Gospel; the life of the Founder and of our Saints, Martyrs, and Blesseds; the Constitutions and Statutes; the General Chapters; and the forms of governance marked by subsidiarity, participation, animation, and co-responsibility. The helmsman is the Holy Spirit. Yet the boat can sink if those who row lose sight of this chart of navigation and, above all, if they do not know or trust their Helmsman. Thus, on the threshold of 300 years, we ask ourselves: where do we wish to lead the Congregation? To which shore do we desire to bring it? To the shore of regression, nostalgia, and indifference or to the shore of renewal, boldness, and creative fidelity? Are we truly aware of our chart of navigation? Are we open to the promptings of the Helmsman, who calls us to cross to the other shore?
- The Congregation is alive! And as long as there is even a single Redemptorist, she remains present (cf. Const. 55). Yet we cannot simply fold our arms; together, we must work for the vitality of this missionary body (cf. Const. 2), avoiding pessimism and instead cultivating a lucid, realistic, and self-critical outlook. Pessimism is the attitude of one who sees a hole in the hull of the boat, notices the water coming in, and concludes that there is no salvation, that all will sink and perish. The self-critical attitude, on the other hand, recognizes the breach, does not hide the challenge, and mobilizes every possible effort to ensure that the boat reaches the other shore with all its passengers safe, even if further repairs will still be needed upon arrival. Those who cultivate self-criticism know the gift they possess, know themselves, and recognize the gifts of others; and for that reason, all are saved. Pessimism can leave us stranded and alone on the shore; self-criticism, by contrast, leads us to the other shore with the Redeemer and with the community.
- Let us, then, walk without fear, keeping our eyes fixed on Him (cf. Heb 12:2). In this way we shall reach the other shore, where we will find the crowds weary and burdened, like sheep without a shepherd (cf. Mt 9:36). There we will also be invited to reflect on our mission, to recall the call that the Lord addressed to each of us “to be with Him” and to be sent forth into the various realities of this world (cf. Mk 3:14). And, like the disciples, we too will be called to rest for a while, trusting that it is He who leads the mission (cf. Mk 6:31).
- May Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help, together with Saint Alphonsus and all the Redemptorist Saints, Blesseds, and Martyrs, grant us always the courage and audacity to be “Missionaries of Hope, following in the footsteps of the Redeemer.” Amen.
Fraternally
Fr. Rogério Gomes, C.Ss.R.
Superior General
Original: Spanish
