Participants in the 2026 Redemptorist Spirituality Course (held in Spanish) share their experience of walking in the footsteps of the Founder and the Congregation’s first saints. Below is a report by Fr. Antonio J. Morela, C.Ss.R., from Paraguay.
Returning to our origins to renew and strengthen our missionary vocation
Visiting the historic sites where our Congregation was born and grew was a profound joy and an immense grace for us. It wasn’t simply a matter of visiting cities, churches, and ancient homes, but of returning to the sources of our spirituality, rediscovering the missionary dream of Saint Alphonsus Maria de’ Liguori, and allowing God to rekindle in our hearts the desire to proclaim the Abundant Redemption.
We began this pilgrimage from the Generalate, at the feet of our Mother of Perpetual Help, on September 8th. Under her maternal gaze, we set out on the journey, spiritually accompanied by Saint Alphonsus and the many Redemptorist saints, blesseds, and martyrs who made their lives a generous dedication to the service of the mission.
One of our first significant experiences took place in Ciorani, the Congregation’s Motherhouse since 1736. Walking its corridors and entering the rooms dedicated to Saint Alphonsus, Saint Gerard, and Blessed Gennaro Sarnelli was an experience difficult to put into words. The simplicity and austerity of those spaces reminded us that, to accomplish great works for God, you don’t need too many certainties, but open hearts. Every corner seemed to speak to us of silence, prayer, sacrifice, conversion, and dedication.
We then reached Scala, the birthplace of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. There we visited the places linked to our origins and reached the grotto where Saint Alphonsus retreated to find himself face-to-face with God and where, according to tradition, he received a manifestation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Contemplating the mountains and coastline that Alphonsus observed so often became a profoundly vocational moment for us.
We also visited the Convent of the Redemptoristine Nuns, spiritual daughters of Blessed Maria Celeste Crostarosa. We celebrated the Eucharist in the chapel dedicated to the Eucharistic Miracle and recalled the meeting between Alphonsus and Celeste, as well as the process of prayer and discernment that accompanied the beginnings of our missionary family.
In the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, we contemplated the image of Christ Crucified. Saint Alphonsus had come to Scala seeking rest and healing; however, God had other plans. There he encountered the plight of goat herders and so many poor and spiritually abandoned people. What seemed like a simple period of rest turned into a calling. God showed him to whom he was to dedicate his life. Through prayer, hardship, and uncertainty, what would become our Congregation took shape on November 9, 1732.
From Ravello, we contemplated Scala and understood something essential: our Scala still exists. It’s not just a geographical location; Scala is where there are people who are forgotten, poor, wounded, far from the faith, or in need of someone to tell them that their lives have infinite value to God. Every Redemptorist is called to recognize the “Scala” that the Lord places before their eyes.
In the footsteps of Gerardo, in Muro Lucano, his homeland
Our journey continued to Muro Lucano, the birthplace of Saint Gerard Majella. We visited the cathedral, the chapel where he was baptized, and the place where he lived and worked as a tailor. There, we remembered little Gerard, who ardently desired to receive Holy Communion, but was denied it due to his young age. According to tradition, Saint Michael the Archangel answered his deep desire by bringing him the Bread of Heaven. This story taught us that God never leaves a heart that sincerely seeks Him hungry.
We also descended a narrow corridor that led to one of the houses where Gerard lived with his parents. That place reminded us of his firm determination to follow his vocation. When his mother locked him up to prevent him from following the Redemptorist missionaries, Gerard tied the sheets of his bed together, climbed out of the window, and wrote a phrase that continues to challenge us: “I am leaving to become a saint.” That young man, considered by some to be a worthless, was transformed, in God’s hands, into a shining example of humility, charity, obedience, and holiness.
In tune with Alphonsus through his musical compositions
Another unforgettable moment was the concert of Alphonsian music performed by the Alphonsian Polyphonic Choir, directed by Father Paolo Saturno, C.Ss.R. Listening to “Tu scendi dalle stelle,” we contemplated the humble greatness of a God who descends from the stars and makes himself small out of love. With “O bella mia speranza,” we experienced Mary as Mother, refuge, consolation, and hope. Through music, we were able to glimpse Alphonsus’s spiritual intimacy and understand that Alphonsian spirituality is more than just a doctrine: it is felt, sung, and transformed into a life dedicated to the Redeemer and the most abandoned.
World, I know you…
We finally arrived in Naples. In the parish of Santa Maria dei Vergini, we contemplated Alfonso’s baptismal certificate. In the Cathedral of San Gennaro, we recalled that it was there that he received minor orders and was ordained a priest. Providentially, our visit coincided with the feast of San Gennaro, and we were able to witness the traditional liquefaction of his blood, a deeply meaningful experience of faith for the Neapolitan people.
We also walked the historic Via dei Tribunali, recalling the trial whose loss led Alfonso to exclaim: “World, I know you. Farewell, courts!” That apparent defeat was not the end of his story, but the beginning of his priestly and missionary dedication. God used a painful disappointment to show him the true path of his life.
We returned from this pilgrimage strengthened and renewed in our Redemptorist vocation. We understood once again that, when God takes the reins of our lives, it is He Himself who guides His work to the end. We return with the desire to contemplate reality through the eyes of Alphonsus and to ask ourselves every day: who are the poor and abandoned that God places in our path today?
May Mary, Mother of Perpetual Help, always accompany us, and may Saint Alphonsus and Saint Gerard teach us to give our lives so that all may experience the joy of Abundant Redemption.
Copiosa apud eum redemptio!
Fr. Antonio Javier Morel, C.Ss.R.
Paraguay
