Thank you Mary and thank you Fatima for the opportunity to bring us closer, with your presence, to the whole Congregation and for as much as we have shared!
December 2025, a time of Advent and of openness to wonder, “a time of waiting and of coming”, of preparing our hearts and our ears to listen to the whispers of the God of life who becomes Good News among us.
At the beginning of December, our new company arrived in Peru from Chile. Srs. Fatima Borges and Maria Irizar, from the General TeamWe visited the communities to experience family days and get to know the mission in each place where we are inserted.
Your presence was a true gift for the country. The certainty that this visit has been for all of them a space full of light and life is echoing in our hearts. Personally, I feel very fortunate to have walked with them, enlivening in each place the illusion of the encounter.
How could we not remember Sister Emiliana waiting for us at the door of our house and her warm embrace when we arrived in Sullana! Also the beautiful welcome greeting in the two schools Fe y Alegria and Santa Ursula with gifts, dances and music band in full swing! And the meeting with the management and administration teams, plus the Vedruna Laity. How much growth and love for the Charism! The evidence speaks for itself.
From there to Nuevo San Juan on the Ucayali, where there was a torrential rain that drenched us all. We crossed the imposing Ucayali River to visit two of the schools that Fe y Alegría accompanies. And the teenagers of San Juan, with their natural grace, gave us a jungle dance in spite of the sweltering heat and the sun. It was amazing to see Mrs. Alicia, animator of the local Christian community, leading the Sunday liturgy with homily included, and the sisters, as well as the villagers, welcoming with unction the humble message of God becoming small to make us all great!
We celebrated Christmas with the sisters and the people of Celendín (Cajamarca). There was no lack of exquisite details and festivities, dances and fireworks illuminating the starry sky. Likewise, the Vedruna Laity, the Health Promoters and the people of the workshops, took great care to give us a warm welcome that still resounds in our hearts.
We concluded our round of visits with the Vedruna community in Pueblo Libre (Lima), a community that welcomes us all, which takes care of our stay and the harmony of the environment for our days of silence and prayer, of sororal encounter, of relaxation and celebration.
In each place there was a long and serene community meeting to deepen the themes: “Less Power and more Authority”, “Synodality and Shared Leadership”. Aspects that touched deeply the daily life and enlivened the call to be signs of the Presence of God in our lives and bearers of hope despite our weakness.
In January, to close the visit, we had a day of assembly in person at the Vedruna house in Pueblo Libre, with the sisters of the country, delving into the key aspects of the Chapter Document Born Again.
Sr. Rubelia Reto, ccv
