From Monday 04 to 08 July, the Redemptorist brothers of the future Province of Peru – Bolivia met in the Peruvian city of Arequipa. Participants came from La Paz, Peru South and Peru North units. Fourteen priests and two deacons fraternised during these days characterised by a fraternal atmosphere and a lot of enthusiasm and hope. Br. Luis Mojica of the Hospitaller Order of St. John of God participated in the gathering too.
The Redemptorist community of the Perpetual Help Parish welcomed the missionaries. They toured part of the parish and visited some of the 35 chapels that make up the parish. In addition, they had moments of joy with the typical dances presented by the girls of a children’s home and enjoyed the traditional dishes of Arequipa.
Fr. Boris Calzadilla, C.Ss.R., Provincial of Bolivia, accompanied the young fathers for the first few days; then, he had to return to Bolivia to attend the funeral Mass of our brother Bishop Waldo Barrionuevo, Redemptorist bishop of the Apostolic Vicariate of Reyes. During those days, the young Redemptorists reflected on the importance of knowing oneself, the service to the most needy and the encyclical letter of Pope Francis “Lumen Fidei”. The Holy Father says that hope united with faith and charity projects us into a certain future. This immediate future is reflected in our process of “restructuring”.
The congregation felt renewed by this meeting and, above all, grateful for the opportunity to get to know each other. A significant moment was when Brother Luis gave one of the young fathers a picture of a colourful tree with the names of each participant. The participants committed themselves to placing this picture in the future provincial house.
All the participants thanked their major superiors for supporting this meeting and asked for the intercession of St. Alphonsus so that they may become more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ.
Fr. Boris Calzadilla, C.Ss.R.
