The idea of celebrating the preparation for the Bicentenary with a walk as is being done throughout the Province, touring the communities, although very good, was not adapted to our reality in Belo Horizonte. Here, our legs do not help us to move in the direction our head indicates. So we created another alternative: to gather several groups of the Parish in our house and celebrate here, with a moment of intense prayer, reflection on the Bicentenary and a good snack at the end.
In a prominent place we placed St. Joaquina and some of her quotes, as well as a text that evoked her life. All this helped us in our prayer.
We highlight some sentences from the text:
- The word “Bicentenary” means two hundred years. This is what the Congregation founded by St. Joaquina de Vedruna will celebrate on February 26, 2026.
- The Vedruna Congregation has been in the Parish of Our Lady Aparecida for 33 years, in the neighborhood where we are located: Barrio Mantiqueira. That is why we want to celebrate this date with our Parish.
- St. Joaquina de Vedruna was a strong woman who lived the various stages of life with great integrity: child, young woman, mother of nine children, widow, foundress and canonized saint. Pope John XXIII canonized her on April 12, 1959.
- When her husband, Teodoro de Mas, died, she was sick and bedridden. Without anyone informing her of her husband’s death, she understood that, from the crucifix at her bedside, Jesus was saying to her: “From now on, I will be your husband”.
- With the guidance of a Capuchin priest, Friar Esteban de Olot, he accepted the mission of founding the Congregation of the Carmelite Sisters of Charity Vedruna. Today, in this Vedruna community in Brazil, they reside in the parish of Our Lady of Aparecida. To found the Congregation, she gathered in her home nine young women who expressed their desire to consecrate themselves to God. On February 26, the third Sunday of Lent in 1826, they left early for their parish, the Divina Pastora, in the city of Vic, Catalonia, Spain.
- There, they had a time of personal prayer, prayed the Stations of the Cross, participated in the Eucharist and soon returned home, forming a Religious Community of 10 people. The group’s mission was to care for the sick in their homes and to teach girls to read and write, since, at that time, women were not allowed to attend school.
- This continues to be the mission of the Sisters throughout the world, in addition to serving various pastoral groups. Currently, the Carmelites of Charity of Vedruna are present in 24 countries on four continents. In Brazil, we are present in five states or provinces: São Paulo, Paraná, Minas Gerais, Pernambuco and Mato Grosso.
In our Bicentennial celebration itinerary, we also took advantage of some catechesis meetings with young Confirmation students who gathered here at home. Last Saturday, the participants asked to develop the theme of intimacy with God. Imagine how wonderful it was to approach this theme in the light of the experience of St. Joaquina de Vedruna.
Sr. Virma Barion, ccv
