The traditional Pilgrimage of the Holy Redemptorist Missions to the National Sanctuary of Aparecida reaches its 34th edition this November 16.
The meeting brings together coordinators and assistants from parishes who have already received this evangelizing task for a special program broadcast by the Aparecida Communication Network (Rádio Aparecida, TV Aparecida and A12) and also covered on the social networks of the Province of Our Lady of Aparecida.
The pilgrimage is a time of celebration for the completion of the Holy Missions and also for the reunion of parish leaders with the Redemptorist missionaries.
This year, the pilgrimage has as its theme “United in Christ with Mother Aparecida, we are Missionaries of Hope” and the motto “And Mary was with them!,” taken from the book of Acts of the Apostles 1:14. The reflection invites us to live the Holy Year 2025, proclaimed by Pope Francis, and whose theme is “Pilgrims of Hope.”
The most anticipated moment of the 34th Pilgrimage program was the Holy Mass at 9 a.m., at the Central Altar, presided over by Father José Manoel Belo, C.Ss.R, who is part of the missionary team.
At the 9 a.m. Mass, Brother Viveiros, C.Ss.R., leader of the celebration and who works in the Holy Missions, highlighted the presence of the pilgrimage in Aparecida: “We are celebrating the 34th Pilgrimage of the Holy Redemptorist Missions here at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Aparecida. We have come to thank God, to thank Our Lady, for the abundant fruits of missionary work in various cities of Brazil. We have come to ask for the grace of perseverance in our mission.”
At the entrance of the image of Our Lady of Aparecida, the lay representatives of the parishes that were evangelized in the year 2024 were received. During the homily, another missionary who is part of the missionary team, Father Pedro Gruzdz, C.Ss.R., spoke about faith and the commitment it entails:
“What is my faith like? When Jesus comes back, will he find me a person of faith? Will I believe in him?” And it seems that the answer to that question is very obvious. Of course he will. Jesus will find faith on earth, so many people here in the church, so many people watching mass on television, so many missionaries, coordinators, assistants of the holy missions who came here to the Pilgrimage to participate, when they come back, they will find Jesus.
Father Pedro, in exhorting the assembly, wanted to encourage us to reflect on how we have lived our faith; as someone who trusts and puts his whole life in Jesus:
How does this kind of trusting faith come about? The answer is easy. St. Paul will tell us that faith is born from preaching. The more you preach, the more you awaken people’s faith. The missionaries who came and worked in the Holy Redemptorist Missions know this very well when they go to visit families, evangelize homes, meet people, and proclaim the word of God. Faith is born from preaching,” Father Pedro emphasized.
(a12.com)
