70 years in Venezuela, sowing a love that never says no more

On August 3, 2023 at the El Carmelo School in Caracas, 220 people from the entire Vedruna family of the country gathered to begin the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the arrival of the first sisters in Venezuela.

Our hearts are full of joy because we have been walking together and together with this people for 70 years. Since 1953 we have grown in mission, in communities, in history, in family, aware that we are heirs of a Charism that Joaquina de Vedruna lived for the service of the Church and in favor of the most needy brothers and sisters. Her passionate life for Jesus and his Kingdom led her to desire that “his arms would reach out to embrace the needs of all peoples”.

Her daughters, sisters Juliana Oar-Arteta, Josefina López, María Engracia Beriaín, Irene Díaz de Argandoña and María del Carmen Ruíz, wanting to reach many places, heard this message and with a burning heart of missionary spirit dared to board the ship “Franca” on August 3, 1953.

After a long voyage across the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, they disembarked and began their apostolate in these Venezuelan lands, a new love story that allows us to gather sisters and people from Anaco, Bolivar, Aragua and Caracas to celebrate, as a family, these years full of many efforts, dreams, projects, joys, concerns, risks, but above all, of a deep experience of Family where Jesus is the center.

The celebration began with a Eucharist presided by Father Carlos Enrique Caamaño and concelebrated by Fathers Balmiro Rangel and Gilberto Jiménez, lived in a family atmosphere, simple, close and joyful, as Joaquina wanted. As part of the celebration Sr. Maria Serrano and the teachers Carolina Quintero and Giclis Santamaria, sent each Vedruna family to go to their destinations with the mission of announcing, sowing and working from the love that never says enough.

After the mass we enjoyed a cultural act with songs, dances, dances, which made each person to be protagonists and participants of this event that begins today.

The meeting ended with a sharing among all, where the young people of the Vedruna Youth Movement (MJV) served all those present with diligence and joy.

The pastoral pedagogical motto that will accompany us in the new school year “sowing love that never says enough” was announced, bidding us farewell with enthusiasm and joy until another time.

Lcdo. Giclis Santamaria