On June 1, 1864, in Ciempozuelos (Madrid), the doors of the Asylum of Our Lady of Consolation were opened to offer a space of humanity, justice, and compassion. The house that is open to shelter helplessness and abandonment of women beaten and wounded by prostitution. A home where women can heal their wishes and regain their dignity. The dignity that was taken away by the incomprehension of a society that excludes the weakest.
José María Benito Serra and Antonia de Oviedo y Schönthal were moved by the situation of these women that they witnessed in the Hospital of St. John of God, and touched by the Gospel of Jesus. Guided by the Holy Spirit, they dedicated themselves with what they are and have to the service of compassion and tenderness and started this work of redemption. Today, 156 years later, it continues to open its doors.
At the house in Ciempozuelos, the affective and emotional accompaniment was guaranteed so that the woman could come out of her prostration to rise and live with dignity and initiate a process of authentic liberation. This path of compassion and tenderness that led to the Congregation of the Oblate Sisters of the Most Holy Redeemer, today, extends its mission with the Oblate Family.
“I have a house in Ciempozuelos,” Mother Antonia said at that time. And today, in a situation as complicated as the one we are living in, the Oblate Family shows that this spirit of welcome is still alive, like that first day in Ciempozuelos. The doors are still open in our communities and projects.
On this festive day, as the Congregation’s Animation and Government Teams, we would like to express our gratitude for the dedication, commitment, attention and daily care of the sisters, workers, volunteers, women, and all the people who in one way or another enrich our Oblate Family. Thank you very much to all of you! We express it in this video:
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