Lucas Taborda, Patricio Díaz, and Ezequiel Gallardi, alumni of the Nuestra Señora del Carmen School in Suipacha (Buenos Aires, Argentina) and former members of the Vedruna Missionary Group, were entrusted some time ago with a very special task: to build the pulpit from which the Pope will speak and a structure to display the image of Our Lady of Luján, as part of his visit. It is a story that brings together work, faith, and a missionary experience that began more than two decades ago.
There are works of art that go beyond what can be seen and touched. There are hands that, as they shape the wood, also weave stories, bring back memories, and reconnect with experiences that left a lasting impression.
Such is the case with Lucas, Pato, and Quequi, three friends who work as carpenters and were part of a team that received a very special commission: to build the pulpit from which the Pope will address those in attendance and a structure designed to display the image of the Virgin of Luján.
This task holds special meaning for them. More than twenty years ago, they began a journey of encounter with the Vedruna Family that left a lasting mark on their lives and is now resurfacing in an unexpected way.
A missionary seed that took root in Luján
The story dates back to Holy Week in 2000, when they participated in El Astillero, a gathering for young Vedruna members held at the Marist Villa in Luján. That experience was the starting point for them—encouraged by Sister Anita Rodríguez—to launch the Vedruna Missionary Group.
Between 2002 and 2004, they were part of a group of about twenty young people from the Nuestra Señora del Carmen School in Suipacha (Buenos Aires) who carried out various missionary projects in Gualeguay (Entre Ríos). Those were years of sharing their faith, reaching out to others, learning about different realities, and discovering that mission work is also built through small gestures and shared life.
Time passed, their paths diverged, and their lives moved on. However, that experience is part of a story that today reconnects them with the Vedruna community.
A vocation that also speaks of God
Wood has a special place in the history of our faith. Joseph, the father of Jesus, was a worker, a man of a trade, who understood the value of daily effort and of work done with his own hands. Jesus grew up in that simple environment in Nazareth and shared in that reality.
In the silence of a workshop, amid tools, measurements, and pieces taking shape, we can find something of that spirituality of work: patience, dedication, creativity, and the ability to transform something simple into a work that serves others.
The Call That Is Always Open
This story also invites us to reflect on our own paths. Sometimes, after having lived a communal or missionary experience, life takes us down other paths. Responsibilities, work, and circumstances cause us to distance ourselves from those spaces that were once important to us.
But Jesus’ call doesn’t always come in the way we expect. It can appear in an encounter, a memory, a daily task, or even an assignment that reconnects us with a shared history.
Perhaps this opportunity is also a way to reconnect with that missionary experience from so many years ago. Because what has been sown does not disappear: it remains, grows, and can bear fruit again at other times and in unexpected ways.
We in the Vedruna Family celebrate this story, which reminds us that our mission does not end when we leave a place or when our paths change. Jesus’ invitation remains open; He comes to meet us wherever we are and invites us to put our gifts and talents at the service of others.
Because sometimes, we can also evangelize with our hands. And in this case, by working with wood to prepare a place from which the Word can reach everyone.
A story that began with a gathering in Luján, continued in the missions of Gualeguay, and today is writing another special chapter. Because the seeds of the mission, no matter how many years pass, can always bear fruit again.
A story that began with a gathering in Luján, continued in the missions of Gualeguay, and today is writing another special chapter. Because the seeds of the mission, no matter how many years pass, can always bear fruit again.
