Vallegrande, an intermediate city located in the centre of the Bolivian geography, was the location of the meeting of seventy-three members of the Redemptorist family of Bolivia. The advisors, management team and parish of Vallegrande, organizers of the National Meeting of Lay Redemptorists – Vallegrande 2024, set as its objective: to create an enabling space in which the laity from various regions of the country meet as a family, celebrate and pray together and have an experience of mission in the understanding that ‘community’, ‘celebration-prayer’ and ‘mission’ are the pillars of identity of the Redemptorist ethos.
The meeting was held in the Parish “Dulce Nombre de Jesus” (Sweet name of Jesus) of Vallegrande from Wednesday, July 3 to Sunday, July 7 of this year. The activities scheduled for the development of the meeting were as follows:
Wednesday, July 3: The presentation of the delegations and the message of Fr. Boris Calzadilla, Superior of the Province of Bolivia-Peru, opened the meeting. Then, the lay leadership presented the report of the past meetings 2022 and 2023 and the report of activities for 2023 – 2024. In the evening, at the end of the meeting, cultural activities took place.
Thursday, July 4: The Eucharist was presided by Fr. Slawomir Wardzala. The development of the conferences on Shared Mission in the Redemptorist Congregation and on The Year of Prayer, was declared by Pope Francis, by Fr. Narciso Chinguel and Diac. Alvaro Flores, respectively. In the evening there was the celebration of the Holy Hour in the Chapel of the Lord of Malta.
Friday, July 5: Pilgrimage to the General Cemetery of Vallegrande to pray for the Redemptorist missionaries buried in that holy field took place. Fr. Román Ibarra offered prayers in the Context of Redemptorist Spirituality and on the Popular Mission. The Eucharist, at the end of the day, was presided over by Fr. Alexis Rearte.
Saturday, July 6: Departure to the mission in the town of Guadalupe, 9 km. from Vallegrande. The mission consisted of a visit to the families and the celebration of the Eucharist in the village chapel, presided by Fr. Narciso Chinguel. In the afternoon and evening of this day, the evaluation of the meeting and the election of the new board of directors of the laity took place.
Sunday, July 7: The Eucharist celebrated in the Chapel of the Lord of Malta, presided by Fr. Román Ibarra, ended the National Meeting of Lay Redemptorists – Vallegrande 2024.
Once the meeting had concluded, it was time to evaluate its results. With this in mind, we can ask ourselves the following question: What has the Vallegrande Meeting generated in the conscience and experience of the lay people who participated in it? The following is a summary of what the laity said in this regard:
– The experience of fellowship of the lay participants of the meeting, coming from different regions of the country, reveals the affection that we Bolivians have for the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
– One of the highlights of the meeting was the spiritual revitalization generated in the laity by the celebrations of the Holy Eucharist, the Holy Hours of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and the prayers of the Holy Rosary.
– The themes presented in the conferences of the meeting helped to clarify important topics of Redemptorist spirituality and the evangelizing role of the laity in a “world wounded” by unbelief, violence, individualism, consumerism, etc.
– A very significant experience of the meeting was the mission of Guadalupe. The cordiality and sincerity with which the simple people of that town knew how to welcome them ignited in the laity a renewed motivation for the popular mission. This experience, although brief, serves to understand the meaning of the Redemptorist mission in terms of ‘going out’ and ‘meeting’ with the most needy, just as was the missionary dream of St. Alphonsus Liguori. This experience also allows us to understand the ‘paths of ‘synodality’ along which the laity and professed must travel as protagonists of the new evangelization.
– A milestone that marks positively the history of the meetings of the laity is the attendance and participation of a lay brother from Peru. Undoubtedly, this fact opens a process of integration of the Redemptorist family of the new Bolivia-Peru Province.
– Another thing to highlight is the attendance of a considerable number of young people at the meeting. Their participation, full of joy, creativity, and vitality, marks the projection and renewal to which the Redemptorist family must always be open.
Finally, to point out the challenges for the present and immediate future of the Vallegrande 2024 Meeting would be the following. To continue promoting the integration of lay communities with this type of meeting. To intensify the formation of the laity, in theory and practice, to be ‘useful workers’ of the Redemptorist Shared Mission. There is a need to include and increase the participation of young people in the Redemptorist spirituality and charism because they must become the ‘new lifeblood’ of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer.
“Missionaries of Hope in the footsteps of the Redeemer.”
Victor Romero Morales,
coordinator of the Lay Redemptorists of Bolivia
Cochabamba, July 2024
