A century of grace and zeal for mission make confreres return
The story of redemption is a continuous tapestry of departures, waiting, and providential returns. On May 6, 2026, the Redemptorist Missionaries officially resumed their presence and pastoral work in the city of Mérida, Venezuela, marking the rebirth of a historic bond that has profoundly shaped the faith of this Andean region.
To understand the magnitude of this return, it is necessary to delve into the chronicles of our history as Redemptorists. The footprint of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer in the lands of Mérida began to take shape on October 16, 1926, the date on which the first missionaries arrived in this community. Faithful to their founding charism, they established themselves as an eminently missionary community, dedicating themselves with apostolic zeal to preaching popular missions not only in the Archdiocese of Mérida, but also extending their evangelizing work to the territories of the states of Táchira, Trujillo, and Barinas. As a living testimony to that proclamation of the Gospel, they left a cross as a missionary symbol in each town they visited; holy emblems that, even today, are preserved in many corners of the Andean region, recalling the passage of abundant redemption.
Their work was not limited to the itinerant mission. The tenacity of those first friars materialized in the care and embellishment of the Church of La Tercera, Sanctuary of Our Lady of Perpetual Help. This church, which since its origins in 1591 had witnessed important historical events and served as the headquarters of the Franciscan order, saw its reconstruction completed thanks to the efforts of the Redemptorist Fathers, who erected it as the emblematic Marian Sanctuary that we know today.
After an absence that began on July 18, 2009, the Mérida community, which had been “waiting with the hope of his return someday…”, finally saw its wish fulfilled. The solemn Eucharist of his return was presided over by Monsignor Alfredo Torres, a native of Mérida and Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of San Fernando de Apure, who is very close to the Redemptorist family.
The celebration was attended by Fr. Mauricio Monroy Cáceres, C.Ss.R., Provincial Superior, and Fr. Aly Argenis Villegas, C.Ss.R., Ordinary Consultor. In this joyful atmosphere, the new priests who will form the local community and guide the steps of this new missionary phase were officially presented: Fr. José Vicente Ramírez Meza and Fr. Martín Antonio Amundarain Silva.
The temple was filled with religious priests, a large group from the religious life of the archdiocese, and a multitude of lay people who expressed their joy at the return of the sons of Saint Alphonsus.
We are eternally grateful to God for the grace of returning to our beloved sanctuary in this centennial year. With immense hope, we entrust to the protection of Our Lady of Perpetual Help the life and ministry of this new community, as well as the journey of the four young people who will undertake their propaedeutic experience here this year.
The missionary cross shines again in Mérida, and with it, the certainty that in Him there is abundant redemption.
Fr. Óscar David Tarazona Trujillo, C.Ss.R.
Provincial Secretary – Andean Caribbean Province
