During the retreat days of our XXVIII General Chapter, we were accompanied by Sr. Gloria Liliana Franco, originally from Colombia, religious of the Company of Mary and President of CLAR, who gave us an interview, thanked us for the invitation to our chapter, shared about her recent experience in Rome and the work of CLAR in Latin America.
During the interview, Liliana tells us that CLAR is currently accompanying 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, addressing the challenges facing the region, such as migration, repression and corruption in Latin American governments. He also expressed his concern for the situation of religious life in countries such as Nicaragua, Haiti and Venezuela. However, he emphasized that these challenges represent opportunities for a missionary outreach, especially in the face of problems such as human trafficking and social inequalities.
The President of CLAR stressed the importance of living one’s vocation with enthusiasm and joy, centered on Jesus and the values of the Gospel. She stressed the need to generate community work networks and to address the challenges from authenticity.referring to religious life in the continent, Liliana mentioned that it is necessary to recreate it authentically and that belonging, participation and patience are fundamental for this. He also shared about the visits made to different dicasteries in Rome and how these meetings have strengthened CLAR’s ties with the Church.
In her final message, Liliana invited the Vedruna family to hold on to the hope and newness of the Gospel, promoting transformations in both structures and attitudes, in order to continue bringing the message of faith and commitment to the people of Latin America.
The interview concluded with a fraternal feeling and the promise to continue in contact to continue building hope and joy in the religious life of the region.
