The annual meeting of confreres who are in the stage of transition to ministry was held from 2 to 5 April this year, at the retreat house of Villa Marianella (Chinauta – Colombia), a period that for the Andino province Caribeña includes the first five (5) years after perpetual profession. As indicated in the Ratio formationis, the transition phase has the duty “to accompany the confrere to adequately integrate and consolidate his personal and community identity and pastoral activity” (n. 147).
In this order of ideas, the meeting was marked by the presence of Father Samuel Torres Tangua (prefect of juniors), who delved into the identity of the Redemptorist missionary. Likewise, there was the pleasant presence of Monsignor German Humberto Barbosa Mora, Episcopal vicar in the diocese of Engativá in Bogotá DC and doctor in moral theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University of Rome. The topics addressed were: qualities of the pastor and the meaning of authority.
There was also the presence of the provincial, Father Mauricio Monroy Cáceres, who in his intervention responded to the concerns of the participants and delved into the Communicanda on Consecrated Life, entitled “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14 ). Our consecrated life is at the service of the mission of the Redeemer. The meeting was marked by a high degree of fraternal life, sharing of experiences in the mission sites that each congregation carries out and the spirit of restructuring. There were participants from the three countries that make up the Andean Caribbean province, they are:
- Oscar Gerardo Gómez Vargas – Colombia (5 years)
- Carlos José García García – Colombia (5 years)
- Nelson Fabián Dimaté Ocampo – Colombia (4 years)
- Oscar David Tarazona Trujillo – Colombia (3 years)
- Cristian Mauricio Aza Hernández – Colombia (3 years)
- Carlos Eduardo López Hernández – Colombia (2 years)
- Juan Sebastián Criollo Puentes – Colombia (1 year)
- Sergio Andrés Guerrero Buitrago – Colombia (1 year)
- Jovani Cuéllar Peña – Colombia (1 year)
- Holguer Abel Salao Moyón – Ecuador (1 year)
- Carlos Alberto Segovia Gusqui – Ecuador (1 year)
- Ely Saúl Millán Hereira – Venezuela (1 year)
“Through this total dedication to the mission of Christ, the members share the self-renunciation of their crucified Lord, the virginal freedom of his heart and his wholehearted offering of himself for the life of the world. They must, therefore, become signs and witnesses before people of the power of his resurrection, proclaiming the new and eternal life.” (Constitution 51)
diácono Jovani Cuellar Peña, C.Ss.R.
